Secure tamper resistant smart card

ABSTRACT

Systems, devices, and methods for secure data management and transfer for secure data transactions are provided. For example, disclosed herein are secure &amp; tamper resistant smart cards configured to immutably store data and securely exchange at least a portion of the data via, for example, wireless networks and/or peer-to-peer networks. The smart cards comprise a plurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks electrically coupled via a bus interconnection, the plurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks configured to authenticate users, verify trust amongst the smart card and external devices, and encrypt sensitive data for secure transmission.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/352,657, filed on Mar. 13, 2019, which claims benefit of U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/728,016, filed on Sep. 6, 2018, and U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/642,584, filed on Mar. 13, 2018, the disclosures ofwhich are each incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The embodiments described herein are related to smart card systems, inparticular to smart cards for performing secure data storage, exchange,and processing.

Background

Biometric Smart Cards (BSC) are plastic cards used for identification,verification and communication of such information to other systems forthe purposes of identity verification, payment authorization, accesscontrol, and etc. Such BSCs may incorporate various processors andcomponents for performing the functionality of the card, for example,biometric sensing, processing, displaying information, inputting data,managing connectivity to external devices, and managing power usage.BSCs may connect to external systems and devices via wireless or wiredconnections for physical or data access.

Some current BSC implementations require discrete chips programmed toperform the functions above requiring a separate microcontroller units(MCU) for each function. For example, application processing,connectivity control and management, display control, etc.conventionally require separate MCUs needed to control each function.Furthermore, user registration and verification algorithms useheuristics that require algorithms for the functionality to use separateMCUs. As such, integrating all of the functions above results insignificant power consumption and management challenges or otherwiserestricting the functionality of the BSC.

Additionally, some current BSC implementations have limited space forimplementing user interfaces required to input data or make selectionsthat are visible on displays on such a BSC They electromechanical pushbutton for input of alpha numeric data and or selection of menu optionsdisplayed on screens on such BSCs. Alternatively such BSCs usecommunications with other devices where the user interface is handledsuch as connecting via wired or wireless links to mobile devices, PC orother terminals that provide conventional user interfaces. For securityreasons it's preferable to perform all user interface functions on sucha biometric smart card to avoid malware or attacks that can exploit userinterfaces that are on mobile devices or PC or external terminal that isvulnerable to such malware unlike the BSC. Electro mechanical interfaceson biometric smart cards result in finger fatigue for more verbose userinterface functions such as alpha numeric input.

Therefore, what is needed are devices and systems that overcome thesesignificant disadvantages found in the aforementioned BSC devices.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are devices, systems and methods for secure datamanagement and transfer for secure transactions are provided.Furthermore, disclosed herein are secure & tamper resistant smart cardsconfigured to immutably store data and securely exchange at least aportion of the data via, for example, wireless networks and/orpeer-to-peer. The smart cards disclosed herein provide for ultra-lowpower consumption in part due to integration of a plurality of secure,discrete integrated circuit blocks configured to securely interface witheach other to provide authentication and cryptographic functionality, aswell as with sensors, input interfaces, a display, communicationcomponents, and power modules.

According to one aspect, a smart card for securely exchanginginformation with an external device is provided. The smart cardcomprises a plurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks electricallycoupled via a bus interconnection. The plurality of dedicated hardwarecircuit blocks comprises: communication circuitry comprising an antennaand configured to transmit and receive information via wirelesscommunication over a network; an identification input circuitryconfigured to capture user credentials from an interaction by a userwith the smart card; cryptographic circuitry configured to generateencryption parameters for the smart card, digitally sign digitalcertificates of the smart card based in part on the encryptionparameters, and authenticate digitally signed certificates received fromexternal devices; memory circuitry configured to store an identificationtemplate corresponding to a registered user of the smart card, sensitiveinformation, the encryption parameters, and the digital certificates ofthe smart card; identification circuitry coupled to the memory via a businterconnection and electrically coupled to the identification inputcircuitry, the identification block configured to authenticate that usercredentials received from the identification input circuitry correspondto the registered user based on a comparison of the received usercredentials against the identification template retrieved from thememory circuit, and a microcontroller comprising one or more processors.The microcontroller is configured, in response to authenticating theuser: access the sensitive information stored in the memory, verifytrust with the external device based, in part, on receiving one or moredigitally signed certificates from the external device andauthenticating the one or more digitally signed certificates based inpart on the encryption parameters, encrypt at least a portion of thesensitive information using the encryption parameters, certify theencrypted portion of the sensitive information based on digitallysigning the digital certificates stored in the memory, and transmit thecertified encrypted portion of the sensitive information to the externaldevice via the antenna of the communication circuitry.

In another aspect, a method for securely exchanging information with anexternal device is provided. The method comprises: authenticating, byidentification circuitry of a smart card, that user credentials receivedfrom identification input circuitry of the smart card correspond to aregistered user based on a comparison of the received user credentialsagainst an identification template corresponding to the registered userretrieved from a memory circuit of the smart card, wherein the memory iscoupled to the identification block by a bus interconnection; inresponse to authenticating the user and by a microcontroller of thesmart card coupled to the memory, the identification circuit, and acircuitry by the bus interconnection: accessing sensitive informationstored in the memory; verifying trust with the external device based, inpart, on receiving one or more digitally signed certificates from theexternal device and authenticating the one or more digitally signedcertificates based in part on encryption parameters stored in thememory; encrypting at least a portion of the sensitive information usingthe encryption parameters; certifying the encrypted portion of thesensitive information based on digitally signing one or more digitalcertificates stored in the memory; and transmitting, over wirelesscommunication, the certified encrypted portion of the sensitiveinformation to the external device via an antenna of communicationcircuitry included in the smart card.

Other features and advantages should become apparent from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and embodiments are described in conjunction with theattached drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A-1E are schematic diagrams illustrating example smart cards inaccordance with example embodiments;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are screen shots illustrating a smart dock in accordancewith one example embodiment;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagrams illustrating an example embodiment ofa smart card;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating example transactionprocessing systems in accordance with multiple example embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example process for registeringand/or authenticating a user in accordance with one example embodiment;and

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate screenshots of an example of the process of FIG.5 .

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example system for secure,immutable exchange of data using smart cards in accordance with anexample embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for assigning certificatesto a smart card in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example certificate chain in accordance with anexample embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example use case of off network transactionsusing the smart cards in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example off networkpayment and backend system in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates a schematic diagram of various custody arrangementsin accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example processingsystem for use in one or more systems described herein in accordancewith various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While certain embodiments are described, these embodiments are presentedby way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope ofprotection. The methods and systems describe herein may be embodied in avariety of forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, andchanges in the form of the example methods and systems described hereinmay be made without departing from the scope of protection.

Embodiments herein relate to smart cards and/or biometric smart cards(BSC), which may be referred to interchangeably as smart cards or BSC.In some embodiments, smart cards are cards (e.g., plastic, metal, etc.)that incorporate biometric sensing, processing, display, input,connectivity and power source and management for identification,verification and communication of such information to other systems forthe purposes of identity verification, payment authorization, accesscontrol and the like. Such smart cards incorporate various communicationprotocols, including but not limited to, Europay, MasterCard and Visa(EMV); near-field communication (NFC), Bluetooth (BLE), USB, Wi-Fi, etc.as means of connecting to and communicating with external systems anddevices. Example external systems and devices includes, but is notlimited to, credit/debit networks, point-of-sale systems, cryptocurrency exchanges (e.g., distributed ledger technology systems), mobileor PC clients, other smart cards accordance with the present disclosure,or relevant access control systems for physical or data access.

The combination of various forms of identity verification provides amulti-factor authentication resulting in high security and reduction offraud for applications above. For example, biometric verification may becombined with one or more pass-phrases (e.g., a pin, pass word and/orphrases, or unique keystroke) and physical presence of the card mayprovide three-factor authentication (3FA). Other multi-factorverifications are possible, for example, 2FA where biometricverification can be combined with one of the pass-phrases or thepresence of the card. Additionally, such cards may be used with a mobiledevice or other external device (e.g., PC, tablet, smart watch, anothersmart card in accordance with the present disclosure, etc.) to provideadditional authentication by sending verification messages throughemail, MMS, RCS, etc. to the devices or accounts that only a user of thedevice and card can access.

Various implementations of smart cards attempt to perform bothregistration and authentication of biometrics to reduce vulnerability toa man-in-the-middle attack. Current implementations achieve such bystoring biometric templates on a card and perform authentication onexternal devices. One non-limiting advantage of embodiments describedherein is that vulnerability can be further reduced by localizing theauthentication procedure to the embodiments described in the presentdisclosure, for example, by refraining from transmitting any biometricsoutside of the system and/or specific circuit blocks that require suchinformation for performing their specific functions.

Security vulnerabilities and opportunities for data breach may befurther reduced by minimizing the reliance on complex software stacks toprovide the functions described above. For example, various embodimentsdescribed herein may be configured to implement a hardware chip setusing various logic blocks to sequentially perform the functions of thesmart card. Thus, the cards described herein may be made tamper-proofbecause physical tampering would damage the chip sets and destroy thedata and functionality therein. Various embodiments described hereincomprise an integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC) comprising varioussequential logic blocks for performing a plurality of the abovefunctions. Thus, in some embodiments, each logic block may besequentially activated and deactivated as needed, thereby reducing thepower requirements of the devices herein. The SoC may be implemented asa single substrate comprising the various functions as logic blocks.

Various embodiments of the integrated SoC (for example, as described inconnection to FIGS. 3A and 3B and throughout the present disclosure) maybe implemented primarily in hardware using, for example, components suchas application specific integrated circuits (“ASICs”), or fieldprogrammable gate arrays (“FPGAs”). Implementation of a hardware statemachine capable of performing the functions described herein will alsobe apparent to those skilled in the relevant art. Various embodimentsmay also be implemented using a combination of both hardware andsoftware.

As noted above, by integrating all of the functions required of a smartcard results in significant power consumption challenges. Conventionalimplementations have solved these challenges by relying on an externalpower source (e.g., inductive coupling via NFC or EMV from a terminal).Reliance on such external power sources restricts applications toterminals that provide for such functionality, BLE required allowingpayment applications where the smart card can interact with anothersmart card via peer-to-peer (“p2p”), or a mobile device that doesn'thave EMV capabilities. Such p2p and mobile device interaction cansignificantly broaden potential for a payment solution for developedmarkets as well as the unbanked markets where legacy ATMs or Point ofSale systems with EMV are not yet prevalent. Other conventional smartcards have utilized internal batteries; however due to the powerrequirements of such devices, battery life may be limited to a day instandby or ten (10) seconds worth of transaction time before rechargingis required.

While some current implementations of smart cards can have limiteddisplay capabilities, identity verification methods can require displayof photographic images of the user to be verified against theirbiometrics and other identifiers. Such graphics capabilities on a smartcards in turn requires graphics processing for onboard processing anddisplay of images which also may drive processing requirement and power.Biometric processing on the smart card may require that the full processof enrollment and verification, including, but not limited to, imageextraction from a biometric sensor, conditioning, minutiae detection andmatching to all be conducted on the smart card. Accordingly, embodimentsdescribed herein provide for power conditioning and management functionswhich allow the smart card to be recharged via RF or other energyharvesting means.

Embodiments described herein may integrate one or more or all of thefunctions above into a single SoC designed to perform algorithms for allof various functions. For example, a SoC may be configured to integratefunctions for driving a display, biometric sensor, cryptographicfunctionality, and interfaces for communication via one or morecommunication protocols. By utilizing a SoC, the embodiments herein maylend themselves to ultra-low power implementations. For example, in someembodiments, the cards described herein may require 1/10 of the power ofcurrent implementations or may be able to perform transactions over thecourse of six months to a year.

In some embodiments, a power management method is provided by using theintegrated SoC. For example, the SoC may be configured to operatesections or logic blocks required to perform a needed function anddeactivate (e.g., shut down the supply of power, signal power and clock)portions of the SoC that are not required. This may be performed in atiming sensitive fashion so as to not impede operation of thefunctionality of the SoC. This sequential operation of logic blocks maylead to a reduction in power requirements. In some embodiments, one ormore of or a combination thereof of: integration of the functions aboveinto a SoC, use of hardware acceleration (opposed to software), andpower management may be facilitated by a microcontroller configured toset up state machines that may then perform the functions of the smartcard. Once these tasks are set up via the scheduler, the microcontrollerneed not be used any further, thereby reducing power consumption in someembodiments.

One non-limiting advantage of the embodiments described herein, is thatintegrating all electronics into a SoC may facilitate operation of thesmart card for years and thousands of transactions without recharging.Additionally or separately, the smart card various mechanical and energyharvesting techniques may be implemented such that a continually trickleof charge may be provided supplying additional power. In someembodiments, these features may lead to full power independence. Exampleharvesting techniques include, but are not limited to, the use of Piezobased buttons, photovoltaic cells, harvested RF energy, and mechanicalmotion configured to feed energy into the battery. The integration ofthe discrete electronics into a single SoC also may also dramaticallyreduce cost of production of smart card leading to more prevalent endapplications.

As used herein the term “terminal” may refer to a device external and/orremote to embodiments of the devices and systems described herein. Forexample, a terminal may refer to any one or more or a combination of:servers on a wireless or cellular network, a credit/debit networks,point-of-sale systems, crypto currency exchanges, mobile or PC clients,other smart cards, devices on a p2p network, or relevant access controlsystems for physical or data access. For example, a terminal may be acredit/debit card reader at a physical store or a point-of-sale deviceoperated by a merchant for purchasing items therefrom. Terminal may alsorefer to an access control system such as, for example, a card accesssystem for entering restricted areas. For example, a smart card mayinclude identification and restrictions associated with a user, and byplacing the card near a terminal of the access system access to therestricted area may be provided based on verification of the identity ofthe user. This is not intended as an exhaustive list and is merelyillustrative, other terminals are possible.

As used herein “transaction(s)” may refer to an exchange of data withinhardware blocks of the smart card and/or between the smart card andexternal devices and/or terminals. For example, a transaction may be anexchange of messages for establishing communication between a terminaland a smart card. A transaction may also be an exchange of dataauthorizing a payment or transfer of funds from an account associatedwith the user of the smart card to the operator of the terminal. Atransaction may also refer to an exchange of information forverification of an identity. A transaction could also refer totransmission of data from a memory of the smart card to communicationcircuitry and/or a display on the smart card. While examples areprovided herein, it will be appreciated that a transaction may representany exchange of data and/or information between embodiments herein and aterminal.

A. Smart Card Physical Embodiments

Various embodiments of smart cards in accordance with the presentdisclosure are secure & tamper resistant smart cards that are configuredto immutably store data and securely transmit at least a portion of thedata over network. Embodiments herein provide for smart cards thatoperate at ultra-low power consumption in part due to integration of aplurality of secure, discrete integrated circuit blocks configured tosecurely interface with each other to provide authentication andcryptographic functionality, as well as with sensors, input interfaces,a display, communication components, and power modules. In certainembodiments, the various integrated circuit blocks may be disposed on aplurality of discrete chips. In another embodiment, a plurality ofintegrated circuit blocks may be disposed on a single substrate, forexample, as a SoC.

In some embodiments, the smart card may comprise a number of circuits.For example, the smart card my comprise communication circuitryincluding an antenna configured to transmit and receive data via one ormore wireless communication protocols. The smart card may also compriseidentification input circuitry configured to capture user credentialsfrom an interaction by a user with the smart card. In some embodiments,the identification input circuitry may comprise one or more of abiometric sensor and/or an input functionality as described below. Thesmart card may also comprise a memory configured to store anidentification template corresponding to a registered user of the smartcard, the restricted information and/or data, and encryption parameters.The smart card may also comprise cryptographic circuitry configured toencrypt data stored within the smart card based on encryptionparameters, digital signatures, and/or one or more certificates asdescribed below. The smart card may also include authenticationcircuitry configured to authenticate that user credentials received fromthe identification input circuitry correspond to the registered userbased on a comparison of the received user credentials against theidentification template retrieved from the memory circuit. Additionally,the smart card may include a microcontroller configured to, in responseto authenticating the user, access the restricted information stored inthe memory, encrypt at least a portion of the restricted informationusing the encryption parameters, and transmit the encrypted portion ofthe restricted information to the external device via the antenna of thecommunication circuitry. In some embodiments, the microcontroller mayalso be configured to establish a trusted connection and/or verify thatthe external device is a trusted device based on the encryptionparameters, certificates, and/or digital signatures stored in thememory. Each of the above circuits may be electrically connected and/orcoupled to each other via a bus interconnection.

In various embodiments, one or more of the above described circuits maybe an integrated circuit block disposed on one or more substratesforming one or more chips. In some embodiments, each integrated circuitblock may be disposed on a plurality of separate, discrete, and securesubstrates (e.g., one for each integrated circuit). In anotherembodiment, a plurality of the above described integrated circuits maybe disposed on a single substrate and in some embodiments all of theabove described integrated circuits may be disposed on a singlesubstrate. Thus, the combination of integrated circuits may be referredto as a secure tamper resistant circuit or secure element comprising aplurality of hardware blocks based on the integrated circuit blocks. Byintegrating a plurality of the integrated circuits into a singleintegrated circuit (e.g., as a SoC), the secure circuit may provideultra-low power consumption and secure tamper resistant properties asdescribed herein. Further, the substrate may be a single laminatedsubstrate, thereby providing resistance to physical tampering with thecircuit thereon.

These and other features and advantages should become apparent from thefollowing description of embodiments herein.

FIGS. 1A-1D are schematic diagrams illustrating example smart cards inaccordance with one example embodiment of the smart cards describedabove. FIG. 1A illustrates a view of a smart card 110 that may be used,for example, for performing secure transactions. Smart card 110 maycomprise a chip 112, a display 114, a biometric sensor 115, inputfunctionality 118, and a power button 116. Additional functionality maybe included.

In various embodiments, the smart cared 110 may be a flexible smart cardcomprising multiple layers body or housing. The housing may be made of ametal, polymer, plastic material, etc. The housing includes at least onefirst surface and a second surface opposite thereof. The first surfacemay be the surface as illustrated in FIG. 1A. In various embodiments,the first surface may be the top surface. Alternatively, the firstsurface may be the back surface. The housing may also include aplurality of side surfaces extending between the first and secondsurfaces, thereby forming an enclosure. The enclosure may encompass someor all of the components of the smart card 110.

In some embodiments, the chip 112 may be a microprocessor chipconfigured to store and protect data associated with a user of the smartcard 110. In some embodiments, the chip 112 may be a Europay,MasterCard® and Visa® (EMV) chip for performing transactions between thesmart card 110 and a point-of-sale terminal (not shown).

In some embodiments, alone or in combination, the smart card 110 mayinclude communication circuitry. Communication circuitry may beconfigured for wired or wireless communication via one or morecommunication protocols. In some embodiments, the wireless communicationcomponents may facilitate wireless communication over a voice and over adata network. The wireless communication components may comprise anantenna system, a radio system, and/or a baseband system. For example,the smart card may comprise one or more of a USB connection interface, aWi-Fi direct chip, a cellular (e.g., GSM, CDMA, etc.) connectivity chip,a BLE antenna, a NFC antenna, an RFID antenna, etc. In some embodiments,the communication components may be disposed on the first surface of thehousing or within the housing. Radio frequency (“RF”) signals may betransmitted and received over the air by the antenna system under themanagement of a microprocessor (as described below in connection toFIGS. 3 and 13 ). The antenna system may comprise a Wi-Fi transceiversystem, a cellular connectivity system (e.g., 3G, LTE 4G, 5G, GSM, CDMA,Narrowband Internet-of-Things (NBIoT), etc.), a Bluetooth (BLE) antennasystem, near-field communication (NFC), and/or any other radio-frequency(RFID) antenna system. In some embodiments, an NFC antenna system maycomprise an antenna and/or coil embedded within the housing that mayreceive power from an external coil via inductive coupling. In someembodiments, a BLE antenna may lend itself to hardware implementationand power management features that provide for optimal power usage, thusreducing power requirements by a factor of up to approximately 10. Invarious embodiments, the communication circuitry may be configured toprovide a local area network (LAN) and/or personal area network (PAN)for secure exchange of information. The communication circuitry may alsobe configured to facilitate secure communication of information over awide area network (WAN) or p2P mesh network.

The display 114 may be any display configured to produce one or moreimages. In various embodiments, the display 114 is embedded in one ofthe layers of the housing and viewable via at least one surface (e.g.,the first surface as illustrated in FIG. 1A). However, otherconfigurations are possible. In some embodiments, the display mayprovide images related to functionality and/or transactions to beperformed by the smart card 110. For example, the display 114 shows a“pay” functionality, “authorize” functionality, “register”functionality, “decline” functionality, or any ability of the smart card110. In some embodiments, the user may operate the input functionality118 (as described below) to select options on the display. In someembodiments, alone or in combination, the display may provide an imageof the user for use in verification and authorization of transactions.The display may be any one of a LCD, LED, OLED, e-Ink, ELD, etc.display. In some embodiments, one or more indicators (not shown) may beprovided in the smart card 110 for indicating a status to user, forexample, via an LED or light. The indicators may be used in replacementof or in conjunction with the display 114.

In various embodiments, the smart card 110 includes identificationcircuitry. In various embodiments, identification circuitry may comprisea biometric sensor 115. The biometric sensor may be a transducerconfigured to convert a user input into an electrical signal forauthenticating and/or registering the user of the device. The biometricsensor 115 may be a biometric sensing array comprising a plurality ofsensing components. The user input may include, for example but not tobe limited to, a fingerprint, eye or iris, face, voice, etc. that isunique to the user. In some embodiments, the biometric sensor 115 may bea flexible finger print sensing surface positioned in substantially thesame surface of the housing as the display 114 (e.g., the first surfacein some embodiments). The biometric sensor 115 may be covered by acoating to allow the sensor to perform its function of capturingbiometrics, such as finger print features, through capacitive,ultrasonic, or thermal methods.

In some embodiments, the smart card 110 may be configured to determinewhether the smart card 110 is operated by a living person. For example,the smart card 110 may include one or more galvanic skin responsesensing pads disposed next to or within the biometric sensor 115 andelectrically coupled thereto, for example, on the same plane as thesurface of the housing to determine if a living person is connected tothe sensor. Additionally, or alternatively, a temperature sensor may beincluded and located next to or within the biometric sensor 115 todetermine if a live person is connected to the sensor.

Alternatively or in combination, the identification circuitry maycomprise a camera (not shown) using full color or infra-red sensors todetect the user's eye or face as user inputs. Additionally, oralternatively, the identification circuitry may be a microphone (notshown) configured to capture a user voice input. The identificationcircuitry may be one or more of anyone of the above described orotherwise known methods of sensing a biometric input from a user, suchthat the input is uniquely associated with the user.

In some embodiments, the smart card 110 may also include one or moreaccelerometers or inertial sensors (not shown) embedded in the housingof the smart card 110. Such sensors may be configured to detect anddetermine movement of the smart card 110. For example, the sensors maybe able to detect a rate of change in acceleration and/or direction. Insome embodiments, the sensors may be one or more (or a combinationthereof) of a single axis, two-axis, and/or three-axis inertial sensor.In some embodiments, these sensors may be configured to detect motion;such smart card 110 may be used for performing transactions based onmotion, for example, through tapping or waiving of the smart card 110.For example, the accelerometers can be used to detect how a user isholding the smart card. As such the whole card can act as a joystickallowing the user to move a selection indicator on the display and thenuse the button to make a selection. Such movement can be detected by theaccelerometer as changes to the gravity and used to indicate whichdirection on the visual menu the users is choosing to move a selectionindicator. In some embodiments, once the desired selection is reachedthe user may level the card and press a selection button. Thus, forexample, accelerometers and/or inertial sensors may be another inputmethod. Other functions are possible.

In some embodiments, the smart card 110 may also include an input/output(“I/O”) interface (for example, I/O Interface Block 335 of FIG. 3 andI/O interface 1385 of FIG. 13 ). The I/O interface facilitates inputfrom and output to external devices. For example the I/O interface mayreceive input from a keyboard or mouse and may provide output to adisplay. The I/O interface is capable of facilitating input from andoutput to various alternative types of human interface and machineinterface devices alike. For example, the I/O may include a plurality ofmagnetically coupled connection areas comprising one or more pads toconnect to a USB connector or other similar electrical interface on atleast one of the surfaces of the housing.

The input functionality 118 may be configured to allow the user tophysically interact with and input information into the smart chip 100.The input functionality 118 may comprise an alphanumeric keypad and atleast one selection key 118 b. The alphanumeric keypad may include anumeric keypad key pad 118 c including a plurality of numeric keys, adirectional key pad 118 a including one or more directional keys (e.g.,an up and down key as illustrated in FIG. 1A). The input functionality118 may be disposed on the first surface of the housing or any othersurface of the smart card 110. In some embodiments, the inputfunctionality 118 may comprise a piezo-electric material layerconfigured to create an electrical connection upon interaction by theuser, which may then be detected by the smart card as an input.

In some embodiments, this may allow users to navigate menus displayed inthe display. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1A, the inputfunctionality 118 may comprise an alphanumeric keypad and controlbuttons that allow the input of pin codes, pass-phrases, passwords,unique keystrokes, amounts of transactions, confirmations, rejections,and/or any other input command for managing transactions and storage ofdata in the smart card 110. Accordingly, the input functionality 118 maybe another example of identification circuitry. In another embodiment,alone or in combination, the display 114 may render graphics, images,and/or text that the user can see, use directional keys 118 a tonavigate through these images, and use selection button 118 b to make aselection.

While the input functionality 118 is shown as a numeric key pad, otherembodiments are possible. For example, the input functionality 118 maycomprise only letters and/or a combination of letters and numbers.Furthermore, other directional input keys may be used, beside only upand down. Further still, FIG. 1A illustrates the selection button 118 bas a key pad “E” which may be a “Enter” or “Return” function, however a“back” or “delete” function or other functions may be included. In someembodiments, the selection button 118 b may have time sensitivesettings, where shorter duration pressing may result in one function andlonger pressing may result in alternate functions. Additional examplesare illustrated in FIGS. 1C and 1D below.

The smart card 110 may also include a battery (for example as shown inFIG. 3 ) configure to supply power to the smart card 110 and thecomponents therein. In some embodiments, power may be provided to thesmart card 110 in response to a user interacting with the power button116. The battery may be a thin flexible battery disposed within thehousing of the smart card and electrically connected to one or more ofthe components. In some embodiments, alone or in combination, the smartcard 110 may include one or more super capacitors embedded in one of thelayers of the housing for storing power. In some embodiments, alone orin combination, the smart card 110 may comprises one or more (or anarray of) photovoltaic cells that absorb light from the surroundings andgenerate energy for powering the smart card 110. While examples of powersupplies are provided herein, other methods of supplying power arepossible. For example wired connection to an external power source,wireless charging via near field and/or far-field wireless energy powersupplies, and/or mechanical and/or thermal energy sources. In someembodiments, by using one or more or a combination thereof of supercapacitors, wired and/or wireless power supplies, photovoltaic cells,and/or mechanical and/or thermal sources may lead to extended batterylife and or energy independence of the smart card 110.

In various embodiments, the smart card 110 may include an integratedsystem-on-a-chip (SoC) within the housing. The SoC may be configured toperform one or more, a combination, or all of the above identifiedfeatures (as will be described in more detail below in connection toFIG. 3 ). For example, the SoC can be configured to perform:identification interfacing to capture identification credentials (e.g.,biometric user credentials or others) from the identification circuitry(e.g., biometric sensor 115 or others) as input by the user (forexample, capacitive, ultrasound, or thermal); authentication functionsfor generating a identification template for registration andauthentication of users (e.g., as described below in connection to FIG.6 ). For example, receiving biometric credentials (e.g., a finger printor other biometric) entered into the identification circuit forregistration, to generating a biometric template therefrom, and, forauthentication, comparing received biometric credential (e.g., fingerprint or other biometric) to a database of identification templates ofregistered user. The SoC may also be configured to perform wirelesscommunication functions via the communication circuitry; all digitalprocessing functions for management and operation of the wirelesscommunication; NFC RF interfaces and functions to interface with an NFCantenna and coil: and all digital processing function for NFC functions;RFID RF interfaces and functions to interface with a RFID antennal, allRFID interface functions to perform RFID transactions; graphicsinterfaces and processing functions to drive the display 114, USBinterface functions; encryption and hashing functions for secure datacommunication and transactions, power management and power conditioningfunctions; reception and processing of user interactions with the inputfunctionality 118; and all memory management necessary to perform thefunctions above.

In some embodiments, the SoC may be configured to integrate functionsfor driving the display 114, biometric sensor 115, cryptographicfunctionality via a cryptographic circuitry (as described below inconnection to FIG. 3 ), and interfaces for communication via one or morecommunication protocols.

In some embodiments, cryptographic functionality may include utilizingone or more crypto-keys (e.g., sometimes referred to herein asprivate/public keys and encryption parameters) to secure data containedin the smart card. For example, smart cards disclosed herein may usephysical unclonable functions (PUFs), unclonable certificates, and/orunclonable signatures on, for example, the SoC as keys to encrypt memoryand/or data where private keys or other sensitive information may bestored. Such private keys may include, for example, private keys forsystem level encryption of communications over wireless communicationprotocols. Public keys for such encryption or crypto functions may thenbe generated (e.g., on the smart card or SoC) and used to establishencrypted and authenticated communications with external terminals orsystems. Exemplary external terminals and systems may include, but arenot limited to nodes on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) system(e.g., such block chain based systems) as described below, AES encryptedsystems that required private/public key management etc. If the chip istampered with the PUFs may be altered such that the intruder is unableto decrypt the private keys and unable to access sensitive data. Furtherdetails regarding the cryptographic functionality are provided below.

In some embodiments, indications may be derived from user input viapins, pass phrases, and/or unique keystrokes and biometric verificationwhich may be used for multi-factor authentication. Thus, the smart card110 may be configured to individually activate (e.g., supply powerthereto) and deactivate the various components (e.g., biometric sensor,authentication, EMV, BLE, RFID, etc.) to provide additional verificationof the presence of the smart card 110 based on completion of theverification. In some embodiments, alone or in combination, an image ofthe authorized user may be stored in a memory, and access to the imagemay be granted only if the card is activated through the multi-factorauthentication. Upon activating the smart card 110 through theauthentication, the smart card 110 may be configured to send one or moresignals to a terminal (e.g., a point-of-sale, access terminal, mobiledevice, etc.) that the card is interacting with. Based on the signals,the terminal may communicate to seek verification of the access (e.g.,establishing of a trusted communication or confirmation that the smartcard 110 is a trusted device as described below in greater detail) ortransaction via mobile device, PC client or another terminal. In someembodiments, alone or in combination, a Wi-Fi transceiver connection orother cellular connectivity may not be powered or used unless the smartcard 110 has been inserted into a smart dock (as described below inconnection to FIG. 2 ), which may provide power for thesecommunications. In some embodiments (as described below), the smart card110 may also seek to confirm that the terminal and/or other externaldevices are trusted for communication, for example, via an exchange ofencryption parameters, one or more certificates, and/or digitalsignatures.

In some embodiments, the smart card 110 may be a smart card configuredto identity a user, verify the user, authorize transactions relatedthereto, and provide access control as described herein. As describedabove, the smart card 110 may include the biometric sensor 115, amicroprocessor (not shown), display 114, input functionality 118,communication circuitry, and a power source for such identification,verification, and communicating the same. The wireless communicationcomponents provide connectivity to external systems such as credit/debitnetworks, point of sale systems, crypto currency exchanges, mobile or PCclients or relevant access control systems for physical or data access.

In various embodiments, the smart card 110 may employ a combination ofbiometric verification, along with user input pass-phrases or pins (viathe input functionality 118), and the chip 112 to provide a three-factorauthentication (3FA) resulting in high security and reduction of fraudfor applications above. Furthermore, when used along with mobiledevices, the smart card 110 can provide additional authenticationcapabilities by sending verification messages through email or SMS themobile device (or accounts that only users could have access to).

In some embodiments, the smart card 110 may be configured to register auser and authenticate the user via biometrics to reduceman-in-the-middle attack vulnerability. For example, otherimplementations store biometric templates of the user on the card butperform matching on external devices by transmitting the biometric data.

As mentioned above, the smart card may also be made tamper proof. Insome embodiment, this may be due to the smart cards described hereinavoid using complex software stacks of mobile devices, PCs or serversreducing vulnerabilities of such systems. smart cards in order toprovide the functions above and be useful for payment, credit/debit,crypto currency wallets, access control or identity verification need toprovide processing for fingerprint training/matching, connectivityfeatures that allow them to communicate with mobile devices (e.g. BLE,NFC, PAN, LAN, etc.), payment networks (EMV) and RFID for accesscontrol. The smart card furthermore needs to provide low power displaysand input interfaces to provide for the applications they areaddressing.

In some embodiments, the smart cards described herein may facilitatesecure handling of private and/or public keys (e.g., sometimes referredto as encryption parameters) used for encrypted communications betweenthe smart cards and external devices. For example, such communicationsmay occur between the smart cards and mobile/PC clients or cloudnetworks when the connectivity is powered, for example by a smart dockas described herein or other connectivity source. Such secure handlingmay be achieved, at least in part, based on one or more tamper-proofstrategies. Such strategies may comprise one or more of integration ofsensitive functions on to a single SoC and/or unclonable signatures askeys. These encrypted interfaces may be combined with tamper prooffeatures and multifactor authentication attributes to provide for securecommunications. One non-limiting advantage of the secure communicationsis to provide secure communications between mobile apps and PC clients,which may permit the devices to connect to merchant acquirer or paymentnetworks in a trusted manner. Trusted networks may be important fore-commerce transactions, where users rely on secure communications withpoint-of-sale terminal emulators. Additional details regarding thefacilitating secure and trusted communications are provided below.

FIG. 1B illustrates a smart card 112 that may be used for performingsecure transactions. Smart card 120 may be substantially similar to thesmart card 110, but comprise less than all of the components describedin connection to smart card 110. For example, smart card 120 maycomprise a housing and a chip 122. The smart card 120 may also compriseone or more wireless communication components as described above. Forexample, the smart card 120 may include one or more of or a combinationof a Wi-Fi transceiver system, a cellular connectivity system (e.g., 3G,LTE 4G, 5G, GSM, CDMA, NBIoT, etc.), a Bluetooth (BLE) antenna system,near-field communication (NFC), and/or any other radio-frequency (RFID)antenna system. In some embodiments, the smart card 120 may not includeany of the means to input user authorization, for example, the smartcard 120 may not include a biometric sensor, display, or inputfunctionality.

In some embodiments, the smart card 120 may not be activated withoutauthorization from the smart card 110. In some embodiments, smart card110 may not include Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity capabilities, and mayauthenticate the user via the biometric sensor 115 and transmit a signalindicative of the authorization to the smart card 112 to activate thefunctionality thereon. For example, as described in connection to FIG. 6, the smart card 110 may comprise memory storing the biometric template.The smart card 110 is not activated for wireless or wired communication,thus the biometric template is securely stored. The user may input abiometric via biometric sensor 115 and the smart card 110 may performauthentication of the biometric. Additional authentication may also beutilized, for example, 2FA or 3FA or others as described above. Based onthe authentication, a signal may be transmitted to the smart card 120confirming authentication of the user, thereby facilitating activationof one or more components therein.

FIG. 1C illustrates another example smart card 130 according toembodiments described herein. Smart card 130 may be substantiallysimilar to smart card 110. However, this embodiment may include adirectional key pad 138 comprising a four directional buttons and a oneor more of selection keys. For example, a central selection key may bedisposed in the middle of all four direction keys, or alternatively orin combination each direction key may be a selection button. Thisembodiment may permit the use of the directional arrows and selectionbutton to allow user to navigate menus displayed on the screen.

FIG. 1D illustrates another example smart card 140 according toembodiments described herein. Smart card 140 may be substantiallysimilar to smart cards 110 and 130. However, FIG. 1D illustrates thesmart card 140 as a hybrid of smart cards 110 and 130. For example,smart card 140 comprises the directional key pad 138 and selectionbuttons of smart card 130 that allows navigation of menus and a numerickey pad 148 a of smart card 110. In one embodiment, the numeric key pad148 a may be an abbreviated key pad comprising fewer keys than thenumeric key pad 118 that be used to facilitate entry of short cut keystrokes. The display 114 can show the functions 148 b of the keypads 148a in a first area of display 114 and the user can scroll to differenttemplates which map the functions of the abbreviated key pad. The secondarea of display 114 may be configured to display images and/or data asdescribed in connection to display 114 of smart card 110. Alternativelyor in combination, the display 114 may be a touch sensitive displaywhereby the user may perform inputs on the display 114 for functions 148b.

While the embodiments described herein are made with reference to asmart card, it will be appreciated that other form factors are possible.For example, the functions and feature described herein may beintegrated in the form factor of a ring or wearable watch. Otherwearable electronic devices may be possible.

FIG. 1E is a schematic diagram illustrating an example smart card 150 inaccordance with one example embodiment. For example, FIG. 1E mayillustrate an embodiment of a smart card as described in accordance withthe various aspects of the present disclosure, and as such may be used,for example, for performing secure transactions. Smart card 150 may besubstantially similar to the smart card 110; thus Smart card 150 maycomprise a chip 112, a display 114, a biometric sensor 115 and varioususer interface elements, such as, navigation functionality 118, and apower button 116. That is, in accordance with the present disclosure,the smart card 150 may comprise a biometric sensor 115 disposed on asurface of the smart card. The smart card may also comprise a display114, internal power source (not shown), and one or more communicationcomponents configured for wired or wireless communication via o e ormore communication protocol. In some embodiments, the smart card 150 mayalso include one or more inertial sensors, a temperature sensor, and/orgalvanic response sensing pads to determine if a live person isconnected to the biometric sensor.

As described above, a smart card may comprise a user interface (e.g.,input functionality 118) whereby the user of the smart card may operatethe input interface to control content displayed on a display.Furthermore, the user input interface may be operated by the user tomake selections and control the functionality of the smart card. Forexample, in some embodiments, a smart card may comprise, in addition toor alternatively to the input functionality 118, a capacitive touchsensor having a sensing area (e.g., in the shape of a round sensing areain some embodiments) where a user can place their finger on the sensorand rotate around a dial to make selections displayed on a display. Bypressing a selection region of the sensing area, a selection may bemade. In some embodiments, the selection region may be a central regionof a round sensing area.

For example, the user interface elements may include, in someembodiments, a touch sensitive capacitive sensor 160. In the illustratedembodiment, the capacitive sensor 160 may comprise a circular shape,however other configurations are possible, for example, a rectangular,oval, or any shape desired. The capacitive sensor 160 may comprisemultiple sensing sectors 164 a-164 d. While FIG. 1E depicts four sectors164 a-164 d, any number of sensing sectors may be applicable includingless than four or greater than four. Furthermore, the sensing sectorsneed not be directly adjacent and may be spaced apart as desired. Thecapacitive sensor 160 may be low profile elements and covered with acoating. A user may be able to interact with one or more of the sensingsectors 164 a-164 d, which are detected by the sensor 160 to generate asignal to a controller. The controller in conjunction with one or moreprocessors comprising firmware may convert the detected user inputs tooperations, movement, and/or selections presented on the display 114.

In an example operation, a user can rotate their finger over the sensingarea 160 and make changes to the position of their finger within thecapacitive sensor 162 that are detected by the sensing sectors 164 a-164d and displayed on the display 114 by the processing of the systemdescribed in our prior provisional. Selections that can be chosen by theuser and are displayed may be context sensitive and may include menuoptions or alpha numeric selections related to the operation andfunctionality of the smart card 150. Each sector 164 a-164 d may includea central region 162 a-162 b and by pressing the central region 162a-162 d of a given sensing sector 164 a-164 d a selection can be made bythe user. Alternatively or in combination, in some embodiments, the usermay press a central region of the sensor 160 (e.g., at an intersectionpoint of the multiple sectors 164 a-164 d) to make a selection. In someembodiments, the navigation functional 118 may comprise or be a backbutton that allows user to exit a current user interface selection andreturn to prior menu options which may be context sensitive orhierarchical.

The capacitive sensor sectors 164 a-164 d may be formed by PCB traces ina multi-layer board with a ground plane on top and electrical componentson the bottom. A ground plan may also be provided on the bottom layersurrounding electrical components. The capacitance sensed by the sectors164 a-164 d can be converted by a controller (not shown) into digitalmeasurements that are then used by firmware included in a processor todetermine which sector 164 a-164 d is being activated. The transitionfrom one sector to another sector will be interpreted by the firmware ofthe smart card to determine the user directed changes that can then bedisplayed on the display 114. The display 114 may be any display,including but not limited to, an e-paper display, LCD, LED, OLED, e-Ink,ELD, etc. The display may be utilized to present menu selections oralpha numeric selections through which the user may navigate andotherwise interact with via the sensor 160. Pressing the central region162 a-162 d of a given sensing sector 164 a-164 d may result in severalsectors being activated at the same time (e.g., inducing activation ofneighboring sectors due to pressure from the user) which may signal aselection of the displayed item on the display 114. In some embodiments,the firmware may include filters to permit the system to detect andeliminate noise. The filters in the firmware may also be used toestablish rate of movement (for example, rotational or translational)within, between, and/or around the sectors 164 a-164 d. For example,higher rate rotations will result in larger jumps between selectionoptions in alpha numeric or other hierarchical menu selections. Lowerrates will result in individual steps in menu or alpha numeric options.For example, selections having a low rate may be from a first selectionto a directly adjacent selection while a larger rate may jump from thefirst selection to a third selection spaced apart from the firstselection. The magnitude of the jump may be proportional to themagnitude of the rate of movement. The back button may allow return toprior menu options.

In addition to rotary sensing sectors, the touch sensitive area 160 canbe rectangular in some embodiments and as opposed to capacitive sensingsectors there can be a matrix of capacitive elements which can locatethe position of the users touch within the area 160 and the sensedposition can result in selection of displayed menu items.

In some implementations, the sensor area 160 may cover a larger area ofthe smart card 160 than that illustrated in FIG. 1E. For example, thesensor area 160 may cover any percentage of the front area of the smartcard. Thus, a larger area of the smart card may be an active touchsensing area that utilizes capacitive sensing embedded in a transparentlayer. This area may be provided with a higher resolution to allow thecursor to be utilized on the display coordinated with user interactionsof the active touch sensing area for pointing to various areas of thedisplay and then tapping any portion of the sensing area to make aselection. In such implementations, a transparent layer may beimplemented over the smart card including the display area where tracesrun through such a transparent layer providing capacitive sensingcapabilities. A matrix of capacitive sensors can communicate userinteractions to the controller to then localize where the cursor orpointer should be located.

In various embodiments described herein the sensing sectors' capacitivesignals may be measured both in reference to ground and/or relative toeach other. The sensing sectors capacitive signals can be interpreted byfirmware to determine and improve signal to noise ratios and tune outparasitic sources of input. The firmware also may be configured to allowsignals from each sector to be context sensitive (e.g., based on contextof the content presented to the user). In all of the designs above touchby the user may not be required but bringing a user's finger(s) withinproximity of the sensing sectors can be detected by measuring thecapacitive variations. This configuration may facilitate a gestureinterface that can allow users to interact with the device withoutactual contact. Furthermore, the firmware in conjunction with thecapacitive sensors may be configured to recognize and process any numberof user inputs, for example, one, two, three, four, etc. user inputsrepresented by any number of finger interactions with the sensors.

In any of the designs above the ground planes or capacitive sensingsectors may block various RF features of the smart card such as NFC dueto real estate limitations of smart cards. As such, the ground planesmay have slits or openings that allow NFC or other RF energy requiredfor communications to pass through such ground planes.

In various embodiments, the smart card 150 may also comprise a backbutton 166. The back button 166 may be a capacitive touch sensitiveand/or electro mechanic inputs.

As described above, smart card 150 may also integrate all of thefunctions above into a single SoC with a design to perform algorithmsfor all of various functions, as described in accordance with thevarious aspects of the present disclosure. For example, a SoC may beconfigured to integrate functions for driving the display and user inputvia the interface elements. By utilizing a SoC, embodiments herein lendthemselves to low power consumption, fast processing speeds and lowercost requirements for SoCs. For example, by using the integrated SoC inconjunction with hardware implemented signal processing for sensingcapacitive signals (e.g., from the sensor 160), firmware executed byprocessors in the smart card, power consumption, and/or power managementschemes (for example, as described in in accordance with the variousaspects of the present disclosure), embodiments herein may provide theabove identified advantageous benefits of improved power management andprocessing speeds.

B. Smart Dock

FIGS. 2A and 2B are screen shots illustrating a smart dock 200 inaccordance with one example embodiment. The smart dock 200 may comprisea housing 210 configured to accept one or more smart cards, for example,through an opening sized to receive and interface with the smart cardstherein. In various embodiments, the smart dock 200 may be structured soto accept two smart cards, for example, smart cards 110 and/or 120. Inone embodiments, the smart dock 200 may accept the smart card 120disposed underneath the smart card 110 (as shown in FIG. 2B). The smartdock 200 is configured to accept the smart cards such that a processorincluded in the housing may connect to each of the plurality of smartcards via one or more interfaces (e.g., connection pads disposed withthe opening (not shown)) so to electrically or wireless connect to themicrocontroller of each smart card and supply power thereto (e.g., viaan internal power source or other external sources in accordance withthe present disclosure). Accordingly, the smart dock may electricallycouple to each smart card, and facilitate coupling between smart cards.

The housing 210 may be a low profile housing comprising a front surfaceand a back surface 216. The housing may comprise one or more of aplastic or metallic material. The front surface may comprise an opening212 through which the contents (e.g., smart cards) may be viewable andthrough which the user may interact with. The back surface may comprisea battery (not shown). In some embodiments, the battery may be removableand, thus, replaceable. For example, a battery may be replaced with anew battery having longer life or larger power capabilities. While thedescription herein describes the battery in the back surface, otherembodiments are possible, for example, the battery or a plurality ofbatteries may be included in the back, side or front surface.Furthermore, power may be provided via one or more other methods of asdescribed above. For example, a wired connection between the smart cardsand smart dock, wireless electrical coupling via near field and/orfar-field wireless energy power supply, etc.

The front surface may comprise an overlap 214 configured to cover aportion of the contents. In some embodiments, the overlap 214 may beconfigured to overlap and/or cover the chip 112, 122 of the smart cards110, 120 therein. The overlap may comprise one or more interfaces, e.g.,contact points or pads for connecting to the smart cards 110, 120. Inthis way, the smart dock 200 may connect to the contents via theoverlap. Alternatively or in addition, the smart dock 200 may include aUSB or other interface for connecting to the smart cards therein. Thus,the smart dock 200 may be configured to charge smart cards via theconnection to the internal battery. Furthermore, the smart dock 200 maybe able to shield or otherwise block the smart card 110,120 from outsideconnections via the overlap 214, which may be configured to interfere orotherwise minimize improper access to the data therein.

In some embodiments, the smart dock 220 may power one or more of thecommunication components of at least one smart card 110,120 in responseto accepting the smart card for performing secure transactions via oneor more of the wireless communication protocols. That is, the smart dock200 may be configured utilize the wireless connectivity provided by oneor more of the smart cards 110, 120. For example, the smart cards mayprovide Wi-Fi, BLE, RFID, etc. wireless connectivity as described above.This may allow the smart dock 200 and/or the smart cards to connectdirectly to a network wirelessly to perform transactions. In someembodiments, the smart dock 200 and/or the smart cards may wirelesslyconnect to a mobile device, PC or terminals that support these wirelessconnectivity modes.

In some embodiments, the smart dock 200 may supply power to thecommunication components of each smart card contained therein based onconnecting to the smart cards 110, 120. For example, in someembodiments, a Wi-Fi transceiver of the smart card may be powered by thesmart dock 200 in response to the smart card being inserted into thesmart dock 200. In some embodiments, alone or in combination, a BLEtransceiver may be similarly activated.

In various embodiments, two or more smart cards may communicate witheach other while inserted in the smart dock 220. For example, the smartdock 200 may be configured, based on insertion of the one or more smartcards 110, 120, to facilitate secure inter card access and/or copying ofdata between each of the smart cards via contact pads or other contactsand interfaces. The smart dock may accommodate RF requirements of thewireless connectivity described above.

In some embodiments, the smart card may authenticate a user via abiometric sensor while the smart card is inserted in and powered by thesmart dock. For example, in some embodiments, the housing 210 maycomprise a camera (not shown) configured to capture an image of theuser. The image may be used for facial or iris recognition, which may beused for or as part of the biometric authentication process. In someembodiments, the camera is a lower power and low profile camera, suchthat it does not impact or substantially modify the weight and/or shapeof the housing 210. The camera may be configured to operate infull-color and/or infra-red. In some embodiments, the housing 210 mayalso comprise any of the biometric sensors described in connection withbiometric sense 115 above, and may be configured to communicateidentification credentials received by the housing 210 to theauthentication functionality of one or more of the smart cards 110, 120.In some embodiments, authentication within one smart card may provideaccess to the second without a second authentication process.

C. Secure Element Implementation(s)

FIGS. 3A and 3 b are block diagrams illustrating an example embodimentof a smart card 300. Smart card 300 may be substantially similar tosmart card 110 and/or smart card 120 as described above. Smart card 300may comprise a plurality of integrated circuits (also referred to ashardware blocks). Each integrated circuit may be disposed on a chip of aplurality of chips. Once or more or all of the plurality of integratedcircuit may be disposed on a single chip. In some embodiments, a chipmay refer to a single laminated and tamper resistant substrate. Invarious embodiments, the chip may be a secure and tamper resistant chipbased on (i) use of physical unclonable functions or other random numbergenerator methods to create private keys that are not known externally,and using the private keys to encrypt the data therein; (ii) capacitiveand inductive filtering of power and clock signals so that noise fromprocessing on the chip would not be easily detected by external sources;(iii) using tamper detection circuits configured to detect clock orpower glitches beyond specified voltages or timing, which could adddelays to normal start up time of the chip or trip flags for firmwarethat tampering was detected; and (iv) encapsulating memory areas thatstore encryption keys and other sensitive information used forencrypting data in layers of power, address and data lines such that anyphysical attempts to access these areas would be destructive to thememory.

Smart card 300 may include a plurality of hardware blocks connectedthrough a protocol bus interconnection, for example, a central controlsystem 305, a display 310, biometric block 315, BLE block 320, EMV block325, NFC block 330, I/O interface block 335, clock 385, power managementintegrated circuit 380, and input functionality block 390. The centralcontrol system 305 may comprise a microcontroller 365, memory 307,cryptographic block 370, user authentication block 375, and deviceauthentication block 390. Each block may be a dedicated integratedcircuit block configured and optimized to perform the functions of theblock of the smart card 300 as described above. In some embodiments,each block as illustrated herein may comprise one or more sub-blocksconfigured to perform sub-functions of the corresponding block. Thesmart card 300 may also include a power supply 340 (e.g., a battery orother power source in accordance with the present disclosure) and beconnected to or include (as described above in connection to smart cards110 and 120) a Wi-Fi block 345, cellular network block 350 (e.g., GSM,CDMA, etc.), and NBIoT block 360. In some embodiments, the Wi-Fi block345, cellular block 350, and/or NBIoT block 360 may be disposed on aseparate smart card or smart dock in accordance with the embodimentsherein.

As described above, the smart card 300 may comprise an integrated SoCconfigured to perform one or more functions of the smart card 300.Various embodiments of the integrated SoC are illustrated in FIG. 3A viadotted lines 380 a-380 c, each of which may be implemented primarily inhardware using, for example, components such as application specificintegrated circuits (“ASICs”), or field programmable gate arrays(“FPGAs”). Implementation of a hardware state machine capable ofperforming the functions described herein will also be apparent to thoseskilled in the relevant art. Various embodiments may also be implementedusing a combination of both hardware and software.

The integrated circuits may be dedicated hardware blocks, eachspecifically designed to perform a desired task and/or function.Dedicated hardware blocks may be able to be optimized for each task, forexample, with specific circuit and logic design, to reduce powerconsumption for performing the designed task. Furthermore, in variousembodiments, dedicated hardware blocks may reduce data processing andfunctions that need to be performed by a microcontroller. For example,by dedicating an integrated circuit for cryptography and/orauthentication via blocks 370 and/or 375, respectively, themicrocontroller no longer needs to perform these tasks.

In various embodiments, the integrated SoCs as described hereinimplements a plurality of functions as low power hardware. The SoC maycomprise a single microcontroller 365 which may be configured to operateas a scheduler and for set up and execution of the dedicated hardwareblocks. Some embodiments utilize low voltage circuits that allow thesmart card to operate at a reduced power requirement, for example, byfacilitating operation of the hardware blocks at a subthreshold voltagelevel. For example, some embodiments operate at 0.9 volts or less.However, other operational powers are possible. Some embodiments, aloneor in combination, utilize software and algorithms strategies to extendand possibly reduce memory footprint. In various embodiments, power maybe reduced through the use of block scheduling of tasks such thathardware blocks are operated in sequential order while ones not in useare deactivated. For example, clock 385 and/or power managementintegrated circuit 380 coupled to the microcontroller 365 may beconfigure to provide power, clock, and signal gating to turn varioussections of the SoC off when functions are not preformed. In someembodiments, the dedicated optimized hardware blocks described hereinare block scheduled via power/clock and signal gating, reconfigured andmanaged via dedicated optimized power management circuits that operateat subthreshold voltages, and have tamper detection features asdescribed in the present disclosure. Scheduling flow of functions in apipelined fashion may permit power management by turning blocks ofhardware on and off. Another non-limiting advantage of the blockscheduling is that such scheduling may lead to extremely fast startuptimes. Current implementations require significant amount of time topower up and use up a lot of energy during such start up times.

In one embodiment, FIG. 3 illustrates a dashed line 380 a illustrativeof a first SoC comprising the central control system 305, biometricblock 315, and I/O interface block 335. In another embodiment, a dottedline 380 b is shown illustrative of a second SoC comprising the centralcontrol system 305, biometric block 315, BLE block 320, EMV block 325,and I/O interface block 335. In still another embodiment, a solid line380 c is provided illustrative of a third SoC comprising central controlsystem 305, the display block 310, biometric block 315, BLE block 320,EMV block 325, NFC block 330, and I/O interface block 335. Thus, anintegrated SoC may be provided configured to perform one or morefunctions of the above. In some embodiments, the EMV block 325 isdisposed on chip different from and separate from the SoC and configuredto interface securely with one or more of the other chips and SoC ofsmart card 300.

The central control system 305 may include a processor ormicrocontroller and a memory 307. Additional processors may be provided,such as an auxiliary processor to manage input/output, an auxiliaryprocessor to perform floating point mathematical operations, aspecial-purpose microprocessor having an architecture suitable for fastexecution of signal processing algorithms (e.g., digital signalprocessor), a slave processor subordinate to the main processing system(e.g., back-end processor), an additional microprocessor or controllerfor dual or multiple processor systems, or a coprocessor. Such auxiliaryprocessors may be discrete processors or may be integrated with theprocessor 560.

In one embodiment, the central control system 305 can be configured toseparately process the incoming signals from a plurality blocks and/orhandle communication with another processors for controlling blocksexternal to the SoC. In another embodiment, the external blocks may beassociated with a processor, which can be configured to receive andprocess data from the central control system 305, a processor configuredto generate graphical user interfaces to display the received data tothe user on a display 310 and a third processor to communicate with theremote server via the BLE block 320, NFC block 330, etc. The processorsmay be low power processors to reduce power consumption on the smartcard's batteries.

The central control system 305 is preferably connected to acommunication bus. The communication bus 355 may include a data channelfor facilitating information transfer and control of the various blocks.The communication bus 355 further may provide a set of signals used forcommunication with the central control system 305, including a data bus,address bus, and control bus (not shown). The communication bus 355 maycomprise any standard or non-standard bus architecture such as, forexample, bus architectures compliant with industry standard architecture(“ISA”), extended industry standard architecture (“EISA”), Micro ChannelArchitecture (“MCA”), peripheral component interconnect (“PCI”) localbus, or standards promulgated by the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (“IEEE”) including IEEE 488 general-purposeinterface bus (“GPM”), IEEE 696/S-100, and the like. These standards maybe applicable to the remote server, while additional or varyingstandards may apply to portable electronic devices such as the centralcontrol device or sensing devices.

The central control system 305 may preferably include a main memory 307and may also include a secondary memory (not shown). The main memory 307provides storage of instructions and data for executing on thefunctionality of the various blocks. The main memory may also providestorage for biometric templates based on registration and other data forauthenticating the user. Furthermore, the main memory 307 may providestorage of instructions for encryption and hashing functions for securecopying and transmission of data. The main memory 307 is typicallysemiconductor-based memory such as dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”)and/or static random access memory (“SRAM”). Other semiconductor-basedmemory types include, for example, synchronous dynamic random accessmemory (“SDRAM”), Rambus dynamic random access memory (“RDRAM”),ferroelectric random access memory (“FRAM”), and the like, includingread only memory (“ROM”). In some embodiments, the memory 307 may beencrypted based on encryption parameters (as described below) tosecurely and immutably stored data therein.

The secondary memory may optionally include an internal memory and/or aremovable medium, for example, an insertable flash drive, etc. Theremovable medium is read from and/or written to in a well-known manner.The removable storage medium may be a non-transitory computer readablemedium having stored thereon computer executable code (i.e., software)and/or data. The computer software or data stored on the removablestorage medium can be read into the smart card for execution by anyprocessor therein.

In alternative embodiments, secondary memory may include other similarmeans for allowing computer programs or other data or instructions to beloaded into the smart card 300. Such means may include, for example, anexternal storage medium and an interface. Examples of external storagemedium may include an external hard disk drive or an external opticaldrive, or and external magneto-optical drive.

Other examples of secondary memory may include semiconductor-basedmemory such as programmable read-only memory (“PROM”), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (“EPROM”), electrically erasable read-onlymemory (“EEPROM”), or flash memory (block oriented memory similar toEEPROM). Also included are any other removable storage media andcommunication interface, which allow software and data to be transferredfrom an external medium to the smart card 300.

The I/O interface 335 facilitates input from and output to externaldevices, terminals, secondary memory, and/or smart dock 200. For examplethe I/O interface 335 may receive input from the smart dock as providedabove, or may connect the smart card to a USB port of a terminal tofacilitate a transaction. The I/O interface 335 is capable offacilitating input from and output to various alternative types of humaninterface and machine interface devices alike, for example a USBconnection.

Smart card 300 may also include a communication interface blocks, forexample, the BLE block 320, the EMV block 325, NFC block 330, etc. Thecommunication interface blocks allows data to be transferred betweensmart card 300 and external devices, mobile phones, PCs, terminals,other smart cards, networks, or information sources over PAN, LAN, WAN,WiFi, clearly, etc. Examples of communication interface blocks include amodem, a network interface card (“NIC”), a wireless data card, acommunications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, an infrared interface, andan IEEE 1394 fire-wire, just to name a few.

Communication interface blocks may implement industry promulgatedprotocol standards, such as Ethernet IEEE 802 standards, Fiber Channel,digital subscriber line (“DSL”), asynchronous digital subscriber line(“ADSL”), frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (“ATM”), integrateddigital services network (“ISDN”), personal communications services(“PCS”), transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (“TCP/IP”),serial line Internet protocol/point to point protocol (“SLIP/PPP”), andso on, but may also implement customized or non-standard interfaceprotocols as well.

Communication interface blocks may also comprise blocks that facilitatewireless communication over a voice and over a data network. Theseinterface blocks may be coupled to wireless communication componentscomprising an antenna systems (not shown), a radio system (not shown)and a baseband system (not shown). For example, radio frequency (“RF”)signals are transmitted and received over the air by the antenna systemunder the management of the radio system. In some embodiments, where theBLE block is integrated in the SoC, the SoC may be configured foroptimized transmission/reception and encryption functions, thus enablingimplementation in hardware with minimal use of a processor leading tofast start up times.

In one embodiment, the antenna system may comprise one or more antennaeand one or more multiplexors (not shown) that perform a switchingfunction to provide the antenna system with transmit and receive signalpaths. In the receive path, received RF signals can be coupled from amultiplexor to a low noise amplifier (not shown) that amplifies thereceived RF signal and sends the amplified signal to the radio system.

In alternative embodiments, the radio system may comprise one or moreradios that are configured to communicate over various frequencies. Inone embodiment, the radio system may combine a demodulator (not shown)and modulator (not shown) in one integrated circuit (“IC”). Thedemodulator and modulator can also be separate components. In theincoming path, the demodulator strips away the RF carrier signal leavinga baseband receive audio signal, which is sent from the radio system tothe baseband system.

If the received signal contains information, the baseband system decodesthe signal and converts it to an analog signal. These analog signals areconverted to digital signals and encoded by the baseband system. Thebaseband system 620 also codes the digital signals for transmission andgenerates a baseband transmit signal that is routed to the modulatorportion of the radio system. The modulator mixes the baseband transmitaudio signal with an RF carrier signal generating an RF transmit signalthat is routed to the antenna system and may pass through a poweramplifier (not shown). The power amplifier amplifies the RF transmitsignal and routes it to the antenna system where the signal is switchedto the antenna port for transmission.

The communication interface blocks are also communicatively coupled withthe central control system 305. The central control system 305 hasaccess to main memory 307. The central control system 305 is preferablyconfigured to execute instructions (e.g., logic, computer programs orsoftware) that can be stored in the main memory 305 or the secondarymemory. The instructions may also be received from the communicationcomponents and stored in the main memory 307 or in secondary memory, orexecuted upon receipt. Such instructions, when executed, enable the card300 to perform the various functions of the present invention aspreviously described.

Software and data transferred via communication interface blocks aregenerally in the form of electrical communication signals. These signalsare preferably provided to communication interface blocks via acommunication bus 355. In one embodiment, the communication bus 355 maybe a hard wired or any variety of other communication links.

The power supply 340 may be electrically connected to one or more of theplurality of blocks via a power line 357. Each block, under control ofthe central control system 305 may be activated and deactivated asneeded via a scheduler executed by the microcontroller 365 as describedabove, thus will draw power from the power supply 340 via power line 357only as needed. Otherwise, the power line may be idle.

D. Networked Environment Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating example transactionprocessing systems in accordance with multiple example embodiments. Thesystems 400, 420 comprise a smart card 110 as described in accordancewith the present disclosure that can be connected to a smart dock 200 asdescribed above. While, the smart card 300 is shown connected to smartdock 200, it should be appreciated that this need not be the case, andsome of the functionality of the smart card 300 may be performed absentthe connection.

As described above, the smart dock 200 may supply power to the smartcard 110 to power to the communication components in response toestablishing a connection to the smart cards 110 (e.g., operating theWi-Fi transceiver block, cellular transceiver block etc. as described inconnection to FIGS. 3A and 3B). As such, the smart card 110 may be ableto perform secure transactions via communication with a wireless network440 as illustrated in FIG. 4 . The network may be a wirelesscommunications network, Wi-Fi network, WLAN, LAN, etc.

FIG. 4 illustrates a secure transaction performed between a smart card110 and an external device 410 over the wireless network 440. In someembodiments, the smart card 110 may be placed near or within an NFCsignal (or other PAN communication protocol) of the external device,based on a desired transaction. Alternatively, the smart card 110 maynot be physically near the external device 410. Either before or duringthe transaction, the smart card 110 authorizes the user as described inFIG. 6 . The authorization is performed prior to the smart card 110transmitting any information out of the smart card. Based on theauthorization, the smart card 110 may be configured to perform thevarious functions to perform the transaction. For example, the smartcard 110 may be configured to encrypt and send encrypted information(e.g., shown as the encrypted IP and described in more detail below)directly to the external device 410 via a PAN or to the wireless network440 and then to the external device. In some embodiments, once the useris authorized, the smart card 110 may be configured to establish atrusted connection with the external device 410, for example, byverifying the external device is a trusted device through the exchangeof digitally signed certificates and/or encryption parameters, asdescribed below. For example, a device authentication block (e.g., block390 of FIG. 3B) may be configured in accordance with the identificationand authentication methodology described below. Furthermore, in someembodiments, the smart card 110 may be required to decrypt the memory(or data stored thereon) based on the authorization in order to accessthe memory to proceed with the transaction. For example, byauthentication the user via user credentials as described below.

In various embodiments, the smart card 110 encrypts the informationtransmitted to the external device based on an encryption parametersand/or hashing functions saved in the smart card 110 (or other smartcard as described in connection to FIG. 1B and below). The externaldevice may then decrypt the information and finalize the transaction,which may include confirming payment, providing access to a restrictedarea, etc. In this embodiment, the smart card 110 is able to directlyinteract with the external device as described above. In someembodiments, the smart card may transmit encrypted internet protocolmessages via a network or cloud network to perform secure transactions.In some embodiments, the smart card 110 and/or the external device 410may be configured to generate transaction record information (e.g.,ledgers, smart contracts, etc.) indicative of the transaction forstorage in a DLT system and/or central database in accordance withembodiments described further below.

In some embodiments, the smart dock 200 may supply power to the smartcards 110 to power to the BLE transceiver in response to establishing aconnection to the smart card 110. Here, the smart card 110 may beconfigured to communicate to either the external device 410 directly ina manner similar to that above, or to another external device (notshown) through which the smart card may communicate to the externaldevice 410. In some embodiments, the other external device maycommunicate via wireless network 440 to the external device 410.

Thus, FIG. 4 also illustrates a transaction between the smart card 110and a terminal acquirer gateway 415. Here, the smart card 110 need notbe near the terminal acquirer gateway 415. For example, the terminalacquirer gateway 415 may be a website online through which the user ofthe smart card 110 seeks to purchase items from the merchant/operatorthe website. Thus, a direct communication between the smart card 110 andterminal 415 is not possible.

Accordingly, to facilitate the transaction, a point-of-sale terminalemulator may be installed onto an external device 430. The externaldevice may be a PC, mobile device, or other device capable of wirelesscommunication over the wireless network 440. The point-of-sale terminalemulator may be an application downloadable to the external device 430that provides for secure communication from the smart card 110.

In this embodiment, the smart card 110 may perform authentication andencryption as described throughout the present disclosure. Then, thesmart card 110 may transmit the encrypted signal (e.g., encrypted IP) toexternal device 430 via a wireless connection. In one embodiment, thesmart card 110 transmits the encrypted IP via a BLE connection. Forexample, the smart card 110 may include a SoC optimized fortransmission/reception and encryption functions via the BLE connection,which can be implemented as hardware requiring minimal use of themicrocontroller of the smart card 110. The external device 430 can thentransmit the encrypted IP to the desired terminal acquirer gateway 415to finalize the transaction as described above. In some embodiments, theexternal device 430 may decrypt and re-encrypt the encryption IP beforetransmitting to the terminal acquirer gateway 415.

E. User Authentication

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example process 500 forregistering (e.g., illustrated as the gray arrows) and/or authenticating(e.g., illustrated as the black arrows) a registered user of a smartcard as described herein. As noted above, a user may operate a smartcard 110 to input an identification credential. For example, the usermay operate the biometric sensor 115 to provide a unique biometricidentifier associated with the user. Alternatively, or in combination,the user may enter a pass phrase (e.g., a pin, password or phrase,and/or unique keystroke) via the input functionality 114 or the smartdock 200 may utilize facial or iris recognition to input anidentification credential. As another example, with reference to FIG.3B, the process 500 may be executed by the microcontroller 365electrically coupled to the biometric sensor 315 and the userauthentication circuitry 375.

At step 505, identification credential is captured by a smart card. Forexample, the biometric block 315 may operate to receive signals from thebiometric sensor 115 and capture the user credential as the uniqueidentifier of the registering user. Similarly, blocks associated withthe input functionality 114 and/or smart dock 200 may capture theidentification credential. In some embodiments, the identificationcredential may be an image of, for example, the user's fingerprintand/or face or other biometric. The received user credential may betransmitted, for example, to user authentication circuitry 375.

Optionally, at step 510, the image of the captured identificationcredential may be enhanced. For example, the user authenticationcircuitry 375 may perform image processing to digitally improve theresolution of the image for improved image processing. At step 515, thecaptured image (or enhanced image where step 510 is performed) isprocessed to detect, extract, and remove minutiae of the image. In someembodiments, this may reduce the amount of data to be processed and/orstored within the memory of the smart card 110. The step to 515 may bebased on the enhanced image of step 510. Where the identificationcredential is a pin or pass phrase, steps 510 and 515 may be skipped.Steps 510 and 515 (and 530 described below), in some embodiments, may beperformed by dedicated hardware blocks included in the identificationcircuit. Such implementations advantageously may provide for reduceddata bit widths and minimized heuristics. Furthermore, suchimplementations may provide for parallel processing that can be blockscheduled to be activated or deactivated sequentially, as describedherein.

An example for step 515 is shown in FIGS. 6A-6D. FIG. 6A is a screenshot 610 of an example of a finger print detected by a biometric sensorin accordance with some embodiments. When smaller capacitive sensors asused for biometric sensing, various minutiae may be identified. Forexample, the biometric sensor may detect intermediate level minutiaecomprising, but not limited to ridge ending 614 and bifurcation 613.Other forms of minutiae may include crossovers 611 and islands 615. Insome implementations, these may compound minutiae that can be decomposedinto ridge ending 614 and bifurcation 613, and thus need not be treatedseparately in some cases. Core 612 and delta 616 (top level minutiae)can also be considered. However, not all fingerprints exhibit them andthere is no guarantee that any top level minutiae will be in thefield-of-view of a small sensor. Thus, some embodiments may provide alow weight to top-level minutia when using smaller lower resolutionsensors, while providing a higher weight if higher resolution and largersensors are used. Low level minutiae such as pores 617 require a higherresolution to detect reliably, and will only be dealt with when highresolution sensors are deployed. Embodiments herein may have a modulardesign to reconfigure the processes and underlying hardware to utilizecore and delta and low level minutiae such as pores only when sensorconfiguration justifies it.

In some embodiments, image enhancement to detect and remove minutiae maybe provided by a short time Fourier transform (SIFT) as shown in FIG.6B. The SIFT algorithm may provide filing of the image throughoverlapping tiles. For example, a tile may be a square region of “windowsize” of pixels in each dimension. The tiles can form a grid ofdimension “tile size” (3×4 in this example). Tiles are overlapping, witha pitch defined by “block size”. This also may provide the centralregion of each tile. Some areas of the tile, including a portion of thecentral area may lie outside of the image area, depending onconfiguration (image size vs tile parameters). These areas of the tilesare assumed to be zero (after DC removal). Some properties, such asimage statistics, are functions defined over the tiling (“tiling size”),not the image pixels. Interpolation is may be used to compute the valueof these properties at the image pixel level.

Example parameters may include:

Image Size: 160×160;

Tiling: 9×9;

Block size: 16;

Overlap: 8; and

Window: 32.

Where the fast-Fourier transform is performed on the window size.

An example of the image processing steps may include, but are notlimited to image statistics, image enhancement, complex filtering,minutiae detection, orientation disambiguation, and minutiae typeclassification. Other processes are possible.

In some embodiments, image statistics may comprise computing energycontent, ridge orientation, ridge frequency and coherence over thetiling. Raw image statistics may be computed for each tile separatelyby, for example, the following steps:

(a) Copy tile pixels from image;

(b) Remove DC component and normalize contrast;

(c) Set any area of the tile that lies outside of the image boundary to0;

(d) Multiply the tile pixel-wise with a window function to attenuate theoverlap region;

(e) Compute the 2D-FFT of the tile, and cache it for use by enhancement;

(f) Apply a Butterworth bandpass filter to the spectrum;

(g) Convert the complex-valued spectrum to the power spectrum, and sumthe spectrum to compute the energy content;

(h) Dot-product the power spectrum with the frequency matrix to computethe average frequency; and

(i) Dot-product the power spectrum with the orientation-x andorientation-y matrices to compute the orientation vector.

In some embodiments, raw image statistics may then convoluted with a(separable) 2D Gaussian in order to smooth the data, i.e. a 1D Gaussianapplied in the x-direction, followed by a 1D Gaussian applied in they-direction. Orientation vectors may then normalized, and the coherencecomputed as a measure of how similar the orientation vectors are in alocal 3×3 neighborhood. This may be indicative of a sum of dot productsof the vector at the center position with each of the surroundingvectors. If all vectors point in the same direction, the sum is maximal.The global average and standard deviation of the energy can then becomputed to determine the contrast of the foreground (detectedbiometric) in the input image. The energy can then be normalized toremove a dependency on contrast and ratio of foreground to background inthe image. In some embodiments, the normalized energy can be used inminutiae detection to suppress detection of spurious backgroundminutiae.

In some embodiments, image enhancement may comprise enhancing an imageby applying an adaptive filter in the frequency domain, a tile at atime. FIG. 6C depicts screenshots of a raw image (left image) withvisualization of orientation, frequency and coherence (white 620: high,gray 630: low) and a corresponding stitched enhanced image. The filtercan be adapted using the statistics from the image statistics. Anexample image enhancement may be performed by following the steps of,for each tile:

(a) Retrieve the FFT result for the tile from (e) above;

(b) Select an appropriate filter based on the orientation and coherenceof the tile;

(c) Apply the selected filter;

(d) Compute the inverse 2D FFT of the tile; and

(e) Copy the central region (block size), and any portions of theoverlap region NOT overlapped by other tiles (i.e. around the outside ofthe tiling) to the enhanced (output) image.

In some embodiments, complex filtering may comprise applying variouscomplex-valued filters to the enhanced image, one scan-line at a time.For example, complex filtering can be performed in multiple stages.Convolutions may be applied line-by-line in the spatial domain andinterleaved with minutiae detection on the most recently computed line.This allows for memory optimizations, as only the filter responses(lines) needed to perform minutiae detection need to be retained. Thesteps of complex filing may include, but not limited to:

(a) Image Derivative:

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{dI}{dr}:=\langle {( {x + {i\;\gamma}} ){\exp( \frac{- r^{2}}{2\sigma_{z}^{2}} )}{I(r)}} \rangle} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 1}\end{matrix}$

where I(r) of the image, and (a□b) denoting the convolution;

(b) Structure Tensor:

$\begin{matrix}{{Z:=( \frac{dI}{dr} )^{2}};{and}} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 2} \\{{Z}:=\sqrt{Z_{real}^{2} + Z_{imag}^{2}}} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 3}\end{matrix}$

(c) Linear Symmetry:

$\begin{matrix}{{{Z}:=\sqrt{Z_{real}^{2} + Z_{imag}^{2}}};{with}} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 4} \\{G_{l}:={{\exp( \frac{- r^{2}}{2\sigma_{l}^{2}} )}.}} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 5}\end{matrix}$

In some embodiments, linear symmetry may express the invariance of thelocal image region against translation along the symmetry axis. Thus,linear symmetry may be high (close to 1) if the region contains onlyregular ridge flow or background and may be low if there is adiscontinuity, such as a minutiae. The steps of complex filing areillustrated in FIG. 6D where the upper left image 630 illustrates anenhanced image that is DC-free, upper right image 640 illustrates alinear symmetric, lower left image 650 illustrates the real value ofdl/dr and the lower right 660 image illustrates the imaginary value ofdl/dr.

In some embodiments, minutiae detection comprises detecting minutiae bylocating local minima in the filter response from (3). In someembodiments, minutia detection may use a multilayer perception (MLP)classifier to assign a quality measure to the minutiae. For example, inone implementation local minima of linear symmetry may be detected bycomparing to the other pixels in the 3×3 neighborhood. Minutiaecandidates thus detected may be further evaluated as follows:

(a) A threshold to can be applied to the local minimum.

(b) Energy, frequency and orientation coherence can be interpolated fromthe image statistics for the location of the local minimum.

(c) A threshold can be applied to the energy, which may suppress somespurious background minutiae, where the energy is low.

(d) A trained MLP can be used to assign a quality measure to theminutia. The input to the MLP may comprise a magnitude of the localminimum and a local ridge frequency to compensate for the non-scaleinvariant character of the filter kernels. Additionally, the values ofthe enhanced image, image derivative, and linear symmetry can be sampledaccording to a specified pattern from the vicinity of the minutiae andfed to the MLP, as described below. A threshold may then be applied tothe quality thus determined, and low quality minutiae are discarded.

(e) An image Orientation can disambiguated to a direction using anotherMLP, for example, were the input comprises the image and/or filtersamples as above.

(d) A minutiae type may be classified using a MLP, for example, were theinput comprises the image and/or filter samples as above.

Various implementations of MLP may be used for the above procedure. Forexample, the MLP may include using 4 or 6 input nodes, 4 or 6 hiddennodes, and one output node, with a than-like activation functions(x)=(1−exp(−x))/(1+exp(−x)). Algorithmically, MLPs constitute a seriesof dot products with subsequent application of the activation function,which could be implemented using a lookup table.

In some embodiments, image orientation disambiguation may compriseobtaining an orientation from the image statistics (1) at the minutiaeposition by interpolation. The orientation may then be disambiguated toa direction using a MLP classifier. In some embodiments, minutiae typeclassification comprises using a MLP classifier to estimate the minutiaetype (ending vs bifurcation). In some embodiments, complex filtering andminutiae detection may be performed within a loop over the lines of theimage. In another embodiment, complex filtering through minutiae typeclassification may be performed within a loop over the lines of theimage

For example, the MLP input vector computation may include orientationand frequency from image statistics, interpolated for the location ofthe minutiae, used to define a scale and orientation-invariantcoordinate system centered on the minutiae location. A pre-selected setof sample points can be defined on this coordinate system, and used toextract corresponding values from the enhanced image, image derivativeor linear symmetry by interpolation.

The set of sample points may be different for each of the 3 MLPs(quality, direction and type), and obtained using an algorithm startingfrom a maximal set of sample points. In some embodiments, only thequality MLP classifier will use linear symmetry components andfrequency. In some embodiments, all classifiers will use image and imagederivative components.

Sample points may be combined into symmetry patterns. These may belinear combinations of values at 1, 2 or 4 positions, based on theavailable mirror symmetries of the sample point relative to the minutialocation. Without subscribing to a particular scientific theory, theapproach provides considerably improvements to MLP learning, asintrinsic symmetries are already encoded in the MLP input vector, and donot have to be learned.

At step 520, an identification template is generated based on, forexample, the captured credentials. In some embodiments, the template isgenerated (e.g., by the user authentication block 375) based on theimage resulting from the minutiae detect of step 515. In someembodiments, the template is a biometric template based on the receivedbiometric data representative of the biometric information of theregistering user. In other embodiments, the identification template maybe data indicative of the pass phrase. For example, once minutiae aredetected their geometry and orientation may be used to create templatesfor each biometric image. These templates can be matched betweenregistered samples and samples presented for authorization. Matchingprocess may require an efficient solution to a nearest neighbor problemoptimized for hardware implementation.

In the case of registration, the process flow proceeds to step 525,where the identification template is stored in a database. In variousembodiments, the database may be the memory of the smart card 110. Thus,the identification template is stored locally on the smart card and onthe same device used to capture the biometric data. Accordingly, theidentification template is not transmitted outside of the localizedsmart card. In some embodiments, the identification may be encrypted forsecure, immutable storage within the memory of the smart card.

In the case of authentication, the process flow proceeds to step 530,where the captured credential is compared against a storedidentification template. At step 530, the identification template may beretrieved from the database and used for comparison, for example, by theuser authentication block 375. At step 535, a determination is madewhether the user credential received from the user at step 505 matchesthe identification template of a registered user of the smart card. Ifyes, then the user is authorized and various functions of the smart cardmay be operated in accordance with the present disclosure. If not, thenthe smart card does nothing. In some embodiments, the display may bedisplay an image of the user during the process 500. In anotherembodiment, the display may display the results of step 535. In someembodiments, in the case that the user is not authenticated, the smartcard may be configured to transmit a notification to the proper userand/or authorities, as such may be indicative of a fraudulently obtainedsmart card or identification credential.

In some embodiments, each step of process 500 is performed by anintegrated SoC of the smart card. As such, the SoC may be configured tolend itself to hardware acceleration with minimal use of a controller toset up such hardware acceleration. One non-limiting advantage of process500 implemented in the SoC, is that each step of process 500 may beexecuted by one or more dedicated blocks of the SoC. For example, step505 may be executed by biometric sensor 315, while additional blocks maybe provided within authentication circuitry 375 and/or separate fromauthentication circuitry 375 for performing each step of process 500.Upon completion of each step, the block associated with that step may bedeactivated and the next block activated only as needed to complete theprocess 500. Thus, blocks that are not currently needed or operated arenot drawing power from the battery of the smart card. Furthermore, insome embodiments, the process 500 may be able to reduce and/or eliminateheuristics and utilize mathematics which lends themselves to hardwareacceleration without compromising recognition and verificationperformance. Additionally, minimized heuristics may facilitate parallelexecution of the various dedicated blocks through scheduled sequentialactivation/deactivation as needed. Accordingly, the process 500 canfacilitate and improve the hardware implementation so to reduce powerconsumption by factor of up to 100.

In one embodiment of FIG. 5 , alone or in combination, provides for acompact hardware optimized implementation, which may dramatically lowerpower requirements for fingerprint recognition. For example, withoutsubscribing to a particular scientific theory, embodiments herein mayreduce power requirements by an order of magnitude or more versusexisting approaches. In an example embodiment, some of the attributes ofthe algorithm are that it ensures 1) sequential operation of variousstages, 2) avoids mathematical operations or heuristics that are notoptimal for hardware digital signal processing, 3) reduces memoryrequirements optimized tiling of image or processed data when signalprocessing is in frequency domain, and 4) use of spatial domain methodswhich allow sequences of lines of image or processed data to beanalyzed. These techniques, as described in more details above, mayresult in sequential processing consisting of three main modules asshown in the FIG. 5 . For example, but not limited to, including a)image enhancement, b) minutiae detection, c) template creation andmatching usable for both registration and authentication. The processillustrated in FIG. 5 may provide for optimal hardware implementationswithout compromising performance. The steps of process 500 may beperformed sequentially and lack heuristics or dependencies on loop backsto access data from other modules. In some embodiments, such featuresmay provide for the above described block scheduling of various stagesof the algorithm so that only the relevant stage is powered. Variousembodiments of the block scheduler operate as a hardware state machinethat turns on the module needed and controls power, signal and clock tothe biometric engine thus dramatically reducing power. Currentimplementations of biometric engines require the use of a floating pointmicrocontroller, such as an ARM M4, which require the wholemicrocontroller to be powered for the biometric engine to work, a lackof avoidance of heuristic approaches, and thus using sequentialimplementations leads to increased memory and power consumption as well.Thus, without subscribing to a particular theory, embodiments describedherein are believed to provide a factor of 20 times better powerconsumption.

In some embodiments, a database may store multiple identificationtemplates associated with one or more users. Thus, multiple users may beauthorized to use a given smart card. Furthermore, each user may beassociated with a set of restriction rules saved in the database. Therestriction rules may define parameters for transactions performed bythe user via the smart card. For example, a first user (e.g., a child)may be associated with restriction rules limiting the amount of apurchase, and when the child is enters the associated identificationcredential the child will only permitted to perform a purchase to thelimit of the funds. In some embodiments the restriction rules may bebased on a geographic location (e.g., within a school for lunch, etc.).In another embodiment, the restriction rules may indicate that there isno spending limit, thus any purchase should be allowed. This may assistto avoid unintended fraud notifications from credit card companies andthe like due to large or unexpected charges. Furthermore, therestriction rules may be indicative of access to, for example, secureareas of a building or land (e.g., in government or secret areas).

F. Authentication and Trust Services for Data, Transactions and/or SmartContracts

In various embodiments, smart cards disclosed herein may be configuredto provide for trusted off network transactions using PAN and/or LAN.That is, as shown in FIG. 7 , in certain situations, a smart card 712Emay be used to perform a transaction with external devices 712A-D (e.g.,other smart cards 712, mobile devices, etc.) where there is no wide areaor internet connectivity over network 720 (e.g., off-networktransactions). Trust may be established between smart card 712E and oneor more external devices (e.g., including amongst smart cards) usingidentification and authentication protocols described herein. Forexample, using the protocols described herein a PAN or p2p trusted meshnetwork 710 may be used. In some embodiments, network 710 may be utilizeBLE, NFC, or other PAN communication protocols for off networkcommunications, for example, based on a close proximity of the devices.In some embodiments, identification and authentication protocols maydepend on the tamper resistant secure element design of the smart cardaccording to the various embodiments herein, which can store local dataimmutably including encryption parameters (e.g., private keys),certificates, data and or smart contracts. Accordingly, embodimentsdescribed herein may provide for a distributed off network trust meshnetwork whereby trusted devices and/or members are able to providetrusted data transactions to other members (smart cards/clients).

G. Authentication Protocol

i. PKI for Card Identification and Authentication

Various functions of smart cards, such as off-network data exchange,transactions such as payments, etc., may depend on an ability todetermine whether an incoming message was produced by an authentic(e.g., trusted) smart card and/or device. Smart cards, devices, and/orusers may be authenticated based on a prior registration indicating thatthe smart card and/or user is a known entity, opposed to an interloper,and is trusted within the network environment. In various embodiments,the identification and authentication protocol described herein may beperformed, for example, by the microcontroller 365 electrically coupledto the cryptographic circuitry 370, device circuitry 390, and memory 307of FIG. 3B.

In some embodiments, a solution can involve creating a public-privatekey pair (for example, a public key “C” and a private key “c”) (e.g., bythe cryptographic block 370) and store the private key on each smartcard, in a secure location of the memory (e.g., memory 307) that is notvisible to users. The smart card can then sign messages with the privatekey(c) (e.g., at the cryptographic block 370), and any receiving partythat knows the public key (C) can verify the signature was produced byan authentic card (e.g., using the device authentication block 390). Thereceiving party may know C based on storing C at the receiving party(e.g., a memory 307) in response to receiving C from either the smartcard or another source. However, with enough effort and expense, it maybe possible to extract the private key from a smart card, enabling thecreation of counterfeits. Also, in a practical production environment,it may be difficult to store a common private key on each smart cardwithout allowing any illicit copies. These problems may be addressed byutilizing the security features as described below to manage thegeneration and distribution of authentication keys to end user smartcards during production.

ii. Smart Card Certificates

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, one ormore of the encryption parameters, digital signatures, and/or at leastone of a plurality of certificates may be used to establish trust by adevice (e.g., the device authentication block 390) receiving messageand/or transactions indicative that transmitting smart card is authenticand capable of securing immutable data being conveyed. The encryptionparameters, digital signatures, and certificates may be generated (forexample, by a cryptographic block 370) and verified using theauthentication and cryptographic functionality of the smart cardsdescribed in accordance with the present disclosure, for example, smartcards 110-150 using the cryptographic block 370 and deviceauthentication block 390 of FIG. 3B.

In various embodiments, encryption parameters may include, but are notlimited to, asymmetric encryption keys (e.g., a public-private keypair), symmetric encryption keys, etc. In some embodiments, each smartcard may comprise a private key immutably stored in memory. Anassociated public key may be composed in a public key certificate signedby one or more certificate authorities. In various embodiments, eachcertificate authority comprises its own corresponding certificate thatspecifies how many additional cosigning certificates are required toverify the authenticity of any certificate signed by each certificateauthority. The corresponding certificate may also include any parentcertificates (e.g., received from a second level certificate authority)necessary to verify its own authenticity as a certificate authority,according to the same procedure described above. The parent certificatesneed not be included where the certificate of the correspondingcertificate authority belongs to a set of root certificates included onall cards. Accordingly, in several embodiments, a message generated byand transmitted from a smart card may be trusted by a receiving deviceusing the above described certificate chain. For example, the receivedmessage may be confirmed to be authentic and therefor trusted if thetransaction is digitally signed using a private key of the smart card,and the private key is associated with a public key certificate whoseauthenticity can be verified using the certificate chain leading back toone or more trusted root certificates. FIG. 8 is a flowchartillustrating a method 800 for assigning a card certificate (CC) to asmart card. In various embodiments, process 800 may be executed duringor following manufacture of a smart card, for example, one such as smartcard 300 of FIG. 3B. In some embodiments, process 800 is performed aftermanufacture of the smart card and when the smart card has passedinspection and data and code protection measures have been activated(except biometric access control).

Referring to FIG. 8 , at block 805, the smart card may generate or beissued a private key (c). In some embodiments, c may be generated by arandom key generation algorithm executed either by the smart card or byan external device and issued to the smart card during manufacture. Theprivate key c is then saved in the memory of the smart card in alocation that cannot be observed without great effort and expense byusers (e.g., registered and unregistered users). At block 810, the smartcard generates and transmits a corresponding public key (C) to a secondsmart card configured as a “Certificate Authority” (CA). The CAcomprises a public key (V) and an unobservable private key (v). At block815, the CA increments a 32-bit serial number (N) and returns a cardcertificate (CC) to the smart card. The CC may have the form:CC(C)=[[N,C],sig(v,[N,C])]  Eq. 6

Where: [N,C] denotes concatenation of N and C and sig(v,[N,C]) denotes adigital signature using private key v over the content [N,C].

In several embodiments, any device that knows the public key V canauthenticate messages produced by the smart card corresponding to thepublic C (e.g., digitally signed using private key c). Advantageously,if an attacker is able to extract the private key c from an end-usersmart card, any counterfeits they produce must share the samecertificate CC(C). In the event that an attacker is detected as usingthe smart card corresponding to C, the CC(C) could be added to a publicblacklist as soon the attacked is detected, without impairing theoperation of any other smart cards. In various embodiments, the privatekey v used to create valid CC exist only within a secure enclave of thememory of the CA. Hence, it cannot be secretly copied. The entire CAsmart card might be stolen, but the ability to create new CardCertificates would therefore be protected by biometric access control(e.g., as described above in connection to FIG. 5 ).

i. CA Certificates

In some implementations, the above described system utilizing a CA maybe subject to some shortcomings. For example, loss or malfunction of theCA smart card may impede production of subsequent smart cardsrecognizable using existing cards that only trust certificatesverifiable using public key V. Additionally, a single CA smart cardcould be a bottleneck for volume production. Also, if private key v isextracted from a stolen CA smart card, an unlimited number ofcounterfeits could be produced that would be indistinguishable from allexisting trusted smart cards.

To address these short coming, a process to securely manage multiple CAsmart cards can use a card certificate chain. In some embodiments, thecard certificate chain may comprise a plurality of card certificates,where at least one card certificate is a link (e.g., level) in thechain. For example, a base level may be the smart card having privatekey c, a first level CA may be the CA smart card having private key v,and a second level CA (referred to herein as CAA″) may be provided thatissues card certificates to the first level CA in the same fashiondescribed above. That is, a newly manufactured CA may generate anunobservable private key v (as described above for block 805) and emitthe corresponding public key V. At block 810, a CAA smart card withprivate key w, would then return a CA certificate:CC(V)=[[N _(V) ,V],sig(w,[N _(V) ,V])]  Eq. 7

Thus, any device that trusts the public key W can evaluate CC(V) totransfer trust to the smart card associated with public key V, andtherefore to CC(C). In various embodiments, more than one CAA smart cardmay be issued, for example, by utilizing a root CA smart card. Forexample, the CAA smart card can likewise be issued a certificate CC(W),according to process 800, by a Root CA smart card:CC(W)=[[N _(W) ,W],sig(r,[N _(W) ,W])]  Eq. 8

Where r is a private key associated with the Root CA card andcorresponding to a public key R.

In various embodiments, the Root CA smart card can carry a certificatesigned by itself using N_(R). In some embodiments, N_(R) is set to 1,but other values maybe used for N_(R).CC(R)=[[N _(R) ,R],sig(r,[N _(R) ,R])]  Eq. 9

In this implementation, to insure that all certificates are availablewhenever authentication is required, each smart card may be equippedwith the complete certificate chain from its own certificate to the rootR, for example, CC(C),CC(V),CC(W),CC(R).

Using the complete certificate chain, any device that trusts the rootkey R can verify the validity of each of the certificates to CC(C) andtrust that any message signed with c was produced by an authentic smartcard. Since all cards carry the Root R, each card can securelyauthenticate any other card. In some embodiments, a unique ID can beconstructed for each card, for example by concatenating a serial numbersassociated with each certificate of the plurality of certificates. Forexample, the unique ID is a 16-byte ID comprising the 4 serial numbersof each certificate where the certificate chain uses 4 smart cards:NR-NW-NV-NC. Thus, the different CA can then be identified as follows:Root CA identified by N_(R)-0-0-0 with certificate CC(R); CAA identifiedby N_(R)-N_(W)-0-0 with certificates CC(W),CC(R); and CA identified byN_(R)-N_(W)-N_(V)-0 with certificates CC(V),CC(W),CC(R).

Example certificate parameters, include but are not limited, a versionnumber, role number, cosignors required indicator, serial number,operator ID, public key, digital signature, and certificate authority.The version number identifies the certificate format, for example,Version=1 identifies the above described Certificate format. Role numberprovides for one of 0=User, 1=CA, 2=CAA, and 3=Root CAA. The cosignersindicator may specify the number (0 or 1, 2, etc.) of additionalindependent signatures required to validate the specified Public Key.The serial number may be, as described above, a 4-byte integer that isincremented by the Certificate Authority each time it signs aCertificate. The operator ID, as described below, may be a 4-byteinteger that identifies the owner of the identification credentialsassociated with a smart card acting as a CA, CAA, or Root CAA. Thepublic key may be a 64-byte ECC sec256k1 public key whose authenticityfor the specified role is asserted by the Certificate Authority. Thedigital signature may be a 65-byte ECC sec256k1 signature, computed bythe Certificate Authority over one or more of preceding parameters. Insome embodiments, the digital signal is computed over all of thepreceding parameters. The Certificate Authority may be a 33-bytecompressed representation of the public key used to generate the digitalsignature.

ii. Attack Mitigation

As described above, if an attacker is able to recover a private key cfrom an end user smart card, the attacker can create counterfeittransactions that all share the same certificate CC(C). However, as soonas any counterfeit transactions are discovered (for example, asdescribed herein), the ID associated with the compromised smart card canbe added to a blacklist. In some embodiments, the smart cards may beconfigured to store a local blacklist (e.g., in memory 307), which maybe referred to when establishing a trusted connection with anotherdevice (e.g. by the device authentication block 390). The smart card mayalso be configured to regularly consult a network wide blacklist tomaintain and dynamically update the local blacklist. In someembodiments, the network wide blacklist may be consulted upon poweringon the smart card, upon authenticating the user, and/or upon receivingan incoming message from an external device.

In some embodiments, when a new CA smart card is activated, thecertificate therein may include a serial number issuance, N, that isinitialized to 1 and a maximum value may set after which it will stopproducing Card Certificates for new base level or end-user smart cards.This may place an upper bound on the number of counterfeit smart cardsthat could be constructed with a compromised CA, unless the compromisedCA was also subjected to an attack that exposed the private key, v, ortampered with N. However, similar protections may be placed on up thechain CAAs and Root CAs to protect against attacks in a similar fashion.

Furthermore, if the theft or loss of a CA smart card is detected, allsmart card IDs associated with the CC(V) can be added to the blacklist.For example, all smart cards having the unique ID e.g., NR-NW-NV-*and/or only those smart cards where N exceeds the last known good value(X) prior to theft, e.g., NR-NW-NV-N for N greater than X. Additionally,as described above, each smart card, CA, CAA, and Root CA is associatedwith a registered user via the identification procedure (e.g., biometrictemplates and identification templates) as described above, thusadditional security is provided by restricting access to the smart cardsand/or the secure enclave in the memory based on the user identificationcredentials.

iii. Methodologies for Root CA Vulnerabilities

The CAA activation procedure in accordance with the present disclosuremay be configured to allow for the possibility that the Root CA maybecome inoperative or otherwise compromised in the future. Thus, anumber of reserve CAA and/or Root CA smart cards may be created atapproximately the same time or immediately after each other, each withmax N parameter sufficient to support continued card production, even ifone remained as the only operative CAA and/or Root CA. Reserve CAAand/or Root CA smart cards may be stored in a secure physical location,but regularly tested so that replacements can be generated while Rremains functional.

If the Root CA is compromised, such can be handled similarly to theft ofa lower level CA. In some scenarios, the internal private key of theRoot CA cannot be compromised and the Root CA may merely be operated inunauthorized fashion, then only smart cards having an ID with NW greaterthan some integer X determined to include only existing CAA known to beuncompromised will be added to the blacklist.

iv. Multi-Signature Certificates

In some embodiments, multiple signatures at one or more smart cardswithin the card certificate chain may be used to provide furthersecurity. For example, a plurality of smart cards at the same level ofthe certificate chain may digitally sign certificates for including ineach smart card at the next level in the security chain. That is, insome embodiments, a plurality of CAA smart cards may each digitally signa corresponding certificate stored with a single CA. Similarly, aplurality of Root CAs may digitally sign corresponding certificatesstored with a single CAA. Each upper level smart card may provide itssigned certificate to the lower level smart card at different or atapproximately the same time.

In some implementations, it may not be necessary for more than one CAsmart to sign each new end-user smart card. The assertion of thissignature, sig(v,[N,C]), is that the newly produced smart card isoperating with authentic, uncompromised, and properly configuredversions of hardware and software. Thus, adding a second signature tothe end-user smart card at manufacture or at some later time would notadd much security, as it would not be possible to fully evaluate cardintegrity once all security measures are active. A compromised CAissuing the first signature could replace valid cards with his signedcounterfeits to get the second signature. Alternatively, if twosignatures are added simultaneously, then they are probably not addingmuch independent verification, as the aspects of verification wouldlargely be automated, out of human sight, though depending on theoperator who configured it.

However, some embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure maycomprise multiple signatures from smart cards higher up the chain. Forexample, the assertion of a CAA signature, sig(w,[N_(V),V]), is that theoperator (e.g., user) of the newly created CA smart card can be trustedto follow the procedures necessary to make correct decisions about theauthenticity of newly manufactured smart cards. This may be essentiallya judgment about personnel trustworthiness, which could benefit from ashared responsibility and prevention of any single member of managementfrom intentionally authorizing counterfeit cards or transactions.Furthermore, a new CA may be created at much lower rate than end-usercards, so it should not be burdensome to gather multiple signatures.

Similar reasoning may apply to the operation of the Root CA. Securitycould be improved by activating multiple Root CA and requiring at least2 root signatures, sig(r,[N_(W),W]), to create a new CAA.

FIG. 9 illustrates a smart card certificate chain 900 comprising aplurality of digital signatures for secure authentication of smart cardtrustworthiness in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. For example, FIG. 9 illustrates multiple branches in thecertificate chain 900. While the notation shows potentially fourdistinct Root Certificates, there may be as few as two and as many asdesired based on security preferences. In some embodiments, each RootCertificate may be required to be distinct and unique from other RootCertificates. For example, R₁ may be distinct from R₂ to signify a validW₁ and R₃ may be distinct from R₄ to signify a valid W₂, but there areneed not be other uniqueness requirements. In some embodiments, theremight only be two Root Certificates in existence. If there are more thantwo, then all of the R₁, R₂, . . . R_(n) must be included on each smartcard down the certificate chain, as it can no longer be assumed that anyCertificate which the card wishes to authenticate would originate fromthe same Root(s) as its own Certificate. This may complicate the cardserial number N_(R)-N_(W)-N_(V)-N_(C) definition described earlier, asthere may now be four possibilities, depending on which path of thecertificate chain is followed. In some embodiments, the serial number IDcan adopt the smallest value, where N_(R) is taken as the mostsignificant digit, N_(W) is next, and so on.

v. Operator ID

In some implementations, an effective multi-signature scheme may need todistinguish between two cards operated by two people and two cardsoperated by the same person. Thus, in some embodiments, a smart card mayneed to be distinguished from an operator of the smart card. This couldbe regulated by never activating more than a one smart card at a timefor any user. However, there may be good reasons for pre-activating“reserve” smart cards, as discussed earlier.

Hence, each smart card may be configured to store an Operator ID thatcorresponds to the individual whose identification credentials areassociated with the smart card. For example, each smart card configuredas a CA, CAA or Root CA can be assigned such an Operator ID. When a newCA is activated, the CAA issuing its Certificate could consult adatabase of IDs (e.g., employee, contractor, authorized users, etc.) todetermine the Operator ID of the intended operator, and store that valuein the Certificate for the CA. Likewise, for the activation of a CAA orRoot CA. In various embodiments, an Operator ID may be stored in smartcards acting as a Certificate Authority in connection to the cosigningfunction.

vi. Card Authentication Methodology

In accordance with the various aspects of the present disclosure, amessage, transaction, and/or data received from smart card mayauthenticate that the message is from a trusted smart card based onreception of a plurality of certificates. In some embodiments, theplurality of certificates may be based on a certificate chain asdescribed above. In some embodiments, the certificates may be receivedalong with the message, before the message, include in the message, orfollowing the message. While embodiments herein are described withreference to smart card in accordance with the present disclosure, itwill be understood that the authentication techniques described hereinmay apply to any device configured to include the plurality ofcertificates as described herein for authenticating itself. For example,a mobile device, personal computer, etc.

A process may be executed for authenticating that a message is receivedfrom a trusted smart card. That is, to authenticate a smart card thecertificate authority process as described above, including but notlimited to, single or multiple signatures. In some embodiments, a smartcard may present all of the certificates stored therein along with amessage signed using its corresponding private key c. For example, as inFIG. 9 , a smart card may present seven certificates to reach the RootCertificates that are already available at the recipient, or areobtainable from a trusted source other than the as yet untrusted smartcard.

Before computing signatures, a recipient device can confirm that it hasall Certificates it may need, for example, confirming that each of thecertificates presented by the smart card are correct. The process mayutilize certificate parameters described above. For example, the processmay comprise the following steps:

-   -   1. Extract a Certificate Authority from CC(C) received from the        smart card and find a Certificate_(X) using public key        corresponding to the private key used to sign Certificate_(X),        where the extracted Certificate_(X) indicates Role>=1;    -   2. if the cosigners indicator for Certificate_(X) is greater        than 0, repeat step 1 as many times as necessary to collect the        specified number of cosigners with distinct Operator IDs and        find certificates for each (e.g., Certificate_(X+1),        Certificate_(X+n));    -   3. for each Certificate_(X) found in step 1, extract the        Certificate Authority and find at least one Certificate_(Y)        using public key corresponding to the private key used to sign        Certificate_(Y), where the extracted Certificate_(Y) indicates        Role>=2;    -   4. if the cosigner indicator for Certificate_(Y) is greater than        0, repeat step 3 as many times as necessary to collect the        specified number of cosigners with distinct Operator IDs and        find certificates for each (e.g., Certificate_(Y+1),        Certificate_(Y+n)); and    -   5. for each Certificate_(Y) found in step 3, extract the        Certificate Authority and find at least one Root Certificate        using public key corresponding to the private key used to sign        the Root Certificate.

If any of the preceding steps fail, the authentication process fails. Inthe process of gathering Certificates, the recipient may also combineCertificate Serial Numbers to compute the smart card ID (e.g.,NR-NW-NV-NC) and check to insure it is not on a blacklist. In someembodiments, if the authentication process fails, the smart card ID maybe added to the local and/or network blacklists.

If the authentication is successful, the receiving device can use thepublic key of the transmitting smart card (e.g., public key C) to verifythat the signature on the message is valid, and then use the Public Keyfound for each Certificate Authority to validate each of theCertificates necessary to authenticate CC(C).

In some embodiments, the certificate parameters may require 173 bytesfor each Certificate. With the cosigning requirement, each card my needto carry seven Certificates plus a Root Certificate for each of theRoots CAs that are defined.

However, ECC signatures may include data that provides for the recoveryof the associated Public Key, based on a message and a signature. Forexample, a standard 64-byte ECC signature may identify up to fourpossible public keys. The correct one can be identified by including anadditional 2-bits, in a 65-byte “recoverable signature”. Hence, ifCertificates are stored in an order that defines the correct linkage,all of the public keys can be recovered by processing the signatures inthe correct order. This may reduce the storage requirement to, forexample, 76 bytes per Certificate, at the expense of some additionalcomputation. In some embodiments, an ECC implementation may facilitatepublic key recovery in about 0.86 seconds, versus approximately 0.78seconds for signature confirmation with a 64-byte public key. Startingwith a 33-byte compressed public key, the verification methods mayrequire equivalent time (e.g., 0.86 seconds).

vii. Fraud Detection

For smart card to smart card transactions it may be easy for each smartcard to verify authenticity and refuse to interoperate with any smartcard that does not pass verification. Likewise, for non-card devices, aslong as the device can acquire the correct values for the RootCertificates CC(R), the non-card devices may be configured tointeroperate with any smart card and/or refuse where authenticationfails. In some embodiments, the Root Certificates may be made availablefrom an external source. For example, a central data base, a website,etc. secured by a conventional X.509 Certificate issued by a CertificateAuthority.

In some embodiments, in the event that any private keys are compromised,the certificates may need to be identified for inclusion on a blacklist.A compromised Certificate would be indicated and otherwise detected bydevices based on any digitally signed transaction and/or message thatviolates rules encoded on valid smart cards. For example, in the case ofoff-network payments, a double spend transaction may be detected as acompromised certificate. As another example, cards may be programmed toreport off-network transactions to a central database or DLT system inthe order they were executed. As another example, cards may beprogrammed to limit the number and/or amount of transactions that may beexecuted off network until the next reporting exchange. Hence, alltransactions that may be vulnerable to counterfeit abuse may be requiredhave a smart card digital signature, in addition to any other signatureswhich may e.g., control specific funds. Furthermore, these transactionsmay be gathered in a database that enables cross checking for invalidactivity.

viii. Cryptocurrencies

Various embodiments of smart cards in accordance with the presentdisclosure may be configured to generate transactions for inclusion onin backend system, for example, DLT systems. For example, in the case ofoff-network transactions using an established cryptocurrency (e.g.,Bitcoin, Auroracoin, PotCoin, Ethereum, etc.), smart cards describedherein can generate a standard transaction and wrap the transaction inan outer signature based on the corresponding Card Certificate fortransmission to a recipient device. The recipient device may removedecrypt outer signature, for example, using a public key of thetransmitting card, for submission to a blockchain. In variousimplementations, DLT systems may utilize proof of work, proof of stake,directed acyclic graph (DAG), etc. to verify the transaction recordinformation as an authentic transaction. In a case were the transactiondoes not clear, for example, were the transaction occurred off-network,the smart card and/or the recipient device may retain the originaltransaction as proof that it was generated by an authenticated smartcard. In effect, this methodology may serve as both a protection for endusers and a bounty for hackers.

For a private fiat based payment system, the procedure may besubstantially similar. However, fraud may be detected when payments inconnection a transaction are submitted for redemption into fiatcurrency. In this case, the system might include additional incentivesfor regular transaction reporting, even if there is no desire to cashout.

ix. X.509

In some embodiments, smart cards described herein may be configured tosupport X.509 Certificates. Such implementation could permitinteroperation with existing software and systems that may become ofinterest. If such needs are identified, the certification generation andauthentication methodology described herein may be augmented with otherformats are needed for external consumption.

For example, if an existing smart card needed to acquire an X.509Certificate to prove its identity to an external system, the smart cardcould generate a new private key k and emit the public key K, signedwith our internal authentication key, c. Software configured with publicroot keys, R1, . . . Rp, could validate the card certificate CC(C) andreturn an X.509 certificate for K. In some embodiments, the softwareneeded to perform these steps may be programmed into the smart card,along with the storing and using the X.509 certificate. Suchimplementations would not impact other card certification processes, butwould be a consumer of the resultant CC(C).

Furthermore, the certification generation and authentication methodologydescribed herein provides several advantages over the X.509 standardcurrently used to authenticate web sites, which has several problem whenimplemented in the smart cards described herein. For example, there isno support for multi-signature authorizations. Additionally, X.509includes a great deal of complexity irrelevant to the smart cardsdescribed herein. For example, parsing bugs are still being discoveredin mainstream implementations even after decades of use (see e.g.,HTTPS://WWW.ZDNET.COM/ARTICLE/TWO-HIGHLY-DANGEROUS-OPENSSL-SECURITY-BUGS-HAVE-BEEN-PATCHED/).At least one respected security expert has recommended developingapplication specific PKI's whenever possible: “PKIs designed to solve aparticular problem are easier to work with than a one-size-(mis)fits allapproach” (seeHTTPS://WWW.CS.AUCKLAND.AC.NZ/˜PGUT001/PUBS/PKITUTORIAL.PDF).Nonetheless, as described above, support for X.509 Certificates couldprovide for interoperation with existing software and systems.

x. Encryption

In addition to providing authentication, the certification generationand authentication methodology in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure may also be configured to facilitate privatecommunication with a secure enclave of a memory. That is, if an externalparty or device wanted to store some secret or otherwise confidentialdata on the card that was inaccessible to even the card user, a secureenclave of the memory could be partitioned and encrypted using thepublic key C obtained from the Card Certificate. Only the device inpossession of the private key c could the decrypt the content storedwithin the secure enclave.

H. Immutably Storage of Data, Transactions and/or Smart Contracts,

In various embodiments, with reference to FIG. 7 , smart cards 712E inaccordance with the present disclosure may utilize the user and deviceidentification and authentication protocols in accordance with thepresent disclosure to store data, transactions and/or smart contractssupported by backend systems, for example, private/public DLT systems730 and/or a central database system 740, 745 (sometimes referred toherein collectively as “backend systems”). By utilizing the DLT backends730, smart cards 712E can keep data, transactions, and/or smartcontracts immutable, opposed to being tracked and recorded by the smartcards. For example, the smart cards can input and output such data,transactions, ledgers and/or smart contracts (sometimes referred toherein as transaction record information) to a central database system740, 745 and/or a DLT system 730 when wide area connectivity via network720 is available. The smart cards and/or external devices configured inaccordance with the present disclosure may settle the local transactionsthat were stored on the devices 712 in response to the connectivity.Once data, transactions, etc. are input to the smart cards that cansupport connecting to other smart cards 712D or clients on phones 712Aor other devices via PAN/WAN 710 for a meshed off internet transactionwhich are later settled with the DLT 730 and/or central database 745backend system 740 providing input/output data/transactions to ourcard/client based off network mesh services. In various implementations,DLT systems may utilize proof of work, proof of stake, directed acyclicgraph, etc. to verify the transaction record information as an authentictransaction and central database systems may utilize time stamping andsequencing to verify the transaction record information as an authentictransaction.

To provide such immutability, an off network payment system using smartcards according to the embodiments herein and identification andauthentication protocols described above is detailed below. Thisimmutability also applies to other data, none payment transactions,and/or smart contracts.

i. Off-Network Payments Between Secure Elements and or Mobile Clients

To provide off network transactions the smart cards are configured todistribute trust as described above and immutable local store of data orvalue enables off network payments between cards or card to mobileclients.

Electronic payment systems typically depend upon trusted third partiesto validate transactions and maintain balances in a centralized ledger.A drawback of this approach is that transactions are not possible whenthe centralized ledger is inaccessible, due to inadequate networkconnectivity or other system failure. A secure element executing tamperproof protocols as described herein can distribute trust to each enduser, so that trusted transactions can be executed immediately by anytwo parties that are able to connect to each other, independent of othersystems.

For example, FIG. 10 illustrates an example use case of off networktransactions using the smart cards in accordance with the presentdisclosure. At 1010, a user may load a smart card 1011 from an account(e.g., a fiat and/or crypto account). The account may be an accessed viaa mobile device 1013 or personal computer (not shown). To load theaccount, the smart card may use one or more communication protocols toaccess the account. As illustrated, at 1014, the smart card 1011connects to the account via any communication protocol. Once connected,at 1015, a biometric credential is received by the smart card 1011 andauthenticated (e.g., as described above), and the smart card 1012 isloaded with the desired amount from the account.

Next, the user of smart card 1011 may wish to use credits on the smartcard 1011 from step 1010 to conduct a transaction with another person,as shown in steps 1020A and 1020B. Step 1020A illustrates an examplewhere the smart card 1011 is used to conduct a transaction with anothersmart card 1021 (e.g., direct card to card transaction). Similarly, step1020B illustrates an example where the smart card 1011 is used toconduct a transaction with a user of an external device 1022 (e.g., amobile device in this example, but other external devices are possible).In both scenarios, there may not be any wide area connectivity, and thesmart card may connect via PAN connectivity 1026. For example, BLEcommunications may be initiated utilizing power from a battery of thesmart card, at step 1023. Once PAN connectivity is established,biometric credentials may be authenticated at step 1024 and thetransaction conducted at step 1025. In some embodiments, trust may beestablished as described above following establishment of the PANconnectivity, and either before or after biometric credentials areauthenticated. In both scenarios, no data coverage is needed.

At step 1030, the user of smart card 1011 may settle the transaction byaccessing the account from step 1010 when connected to a wide areanetwork. Once WAN connectivity is established at 1034, biometriccredentials may be authenticated at step 1035 and the transaction can besettled at step 1036. In some embodiments, settling the transaction mayinclude uploading the transaction to a blockchain (e.g., blockchain 738of a DLT 730 backend) and/or to a central database 745 via server 740.

In some embodiments, a shared ledger may be included to perform thefollowing functions:

-   -   1. audit transactions and identify counterfeit or compromised        secure elements that are not executing the protocol correctly;    -   2. allow users to recover funds in the event that their secure        element is lost or malfunctions; and    -   3. allow transfer of fund to or from accounts that are not under        the control of a secure element

The operator of the ledger may be one of systems 738A-F (referred toherein as a Bank). They systems 738A-F may provide a guarantee that thedigital tokens being exchanged by the secure elements can be redeemedfor other forms of currency. Various embodiments herein, use asymmetriccryptography to place funds and other transaction data under the controlof a private key known only to the secure element (e.g., private key cas described above). The secure element can then execute algorithms thatincrement and decrement balances honestly, with each transfer authorizedby its digital signature.

There are then two challenges:

-   -   1. How to be certain the parties of a transaction are authentic        secure element operating according to these protocols; and    -   2. How to securely transfer transactions between secure elements        over an unreliable, potentially adversarial, communication        channel.

Methods and protocols for verifying authenticity of each secure elementusing one or more digital certificate is described above, and will beassumed to exist.

While some methods exist for establishing secure communications overunreliable networks, none of these methods can guarantee thattransmitted messages arrive. Furthermore, when a sender fails to receivea message acknowledgment, they cannot know whether the message was lostor the acknowledgment was lost. In this setting, the following protocolis adopted to transfer value from one secure element to an externaldevice (e.g., another secure element or device configured in accordancewith the present disclosure).

ii. Payment System Overview

FIG. 11 illustrates a schematic example off network payment system andDLT backend for when on network, thus providing various recovery andinput output verification and authentication transactions. A registereduser 1105 (e.g., a card holder) may create a digital wallet on a smartcard 1110 and transfer value to the digital wallet from a fiat account,a Payment Terminal, or a crypto digital wallet. The transfer may be viaa mobile device running an application having access to the account,through a website or portal operating on a device, or the like. Thesmart card 1110 may be substantially similar to the smart cardsdescribed throughout the present disclosure. The smart card 1110,through the digital wallet, may store the value in an immutable localledger, and in some embodiments, with no passphrase recovery and a dailyaccess limit.

Referring to FIG. 11 , the user may be able to use the smart card 1110to pay other recipients 1112 at step 1120. In some embodiments, paymentmay be performed over a PAN connection between an application running onanother device (e.g., a mobile device that support SDKs) or other smartcard holders. The PAN connectivity may be established via using BLE evenwhen off network and may utilize the identification and authenticationprotocols as described in the present disclosure. The smart card 1110may store an immutable local ledger 1111 indicative of a debit (e.g.,payment to recipient 1112) related to the transaction and the recipient1112 may store an immutable local ledger 1113 indicative of a credit(e.g., received payment from smart card 1110) (collectively referredherein in reference to FIG. 11 as “the transactions”). In someembodiments, the recipient device 1112 may respond to an Offer fromsmart card 1110 with an acknowledgment message.

At steps 1130 and 1140, each device (e.g., smart card 1110 and recipientdevice 1112) may establish WAN connectivity and the transaction may besent out via a wireless communication protocol as signals 1132 and 1142.The transactions may be sent out of the digital wallet of the smart card1110 and the recipient device 1112 (or a digital wallet of the recipientdevice 1112), and to a DLT backend system 1150 (or native to the coin'ssupported or utilizing smart cards private DLT) or central database1160, at steps 1170 and 1180, respectively. The DLT backend system 1150and central database system 1160 may be substantially similar to the DLTbackend system 730 and central database system 740 of FIG. 7 . In someembodiments, the recipient 1112 may have a predetermined number of daysto post the received transaction to the backend system 1150 or 1160 whenWAN connection available. All non-posted transactions may be returned tothe payers (via time locked transactions after the predetermined daysvia the smart cards 1110 DLT backend (or native DLTs) or centraldatabase.

iii. Payment Transfer Protocol

In various embodiments, below is a process for transferring payment fromembodiments between secure elements (e.g., as comprised in a smart cardaccording to various embodiments and/or other devices) in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure. The process stats with,step (1) where a potential payment Sender (e.g., a sending secureelement of a smart card or other device) transmits a payment Offer ofthe following form:Offer: X<S,Limit,Expire>SIG(b)  Eq. 10

Where, X is the payment amount the Sender is proposing; S is a hash ofthe public key associated with the Sender, which serves as an accountidentifier throughout the protocol; Limit is the maximum outstandingpayment amount currently authorized by the Bank (e.g., the accountoperator) for S; Expire is a date after which the Bank may refuse tohonor the Payment Transaction; < >SIG(b) is a digital signature usingthe private key b corresponding to the Bank, whose associated public keyis known to all participants in the payment network. In someembodiments, all digital signatures used by the protocol may be based onthe Elliptical Curve Cryptography (ECC) family, and having the propertythat the associated public key can be recovered from a signature and thedata that was signed. For example, Elliptic Curve Digital SignatureAlgorithm (ECDSA) using sec256k1, or another Elliptic Curve. Othercryptographic algorithms are possible, for example, but not limited to,Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA), Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), andEdwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm (EdDSA).

The <S,Limit,Expire>SIG(b) parameter may be generated and returned bythe Bank each time the Secure Element and/or smart card comprising theSecure Element therein synchronizes with the Ledger (e.g., as recordedin a blockchain of a DLT system and/or central database). In someembodiments, the secure element may be configured to synchronize in atimely fashion and to limit the amount of unsynchronized transactionsoutstanding, as will be described in below. The Expire parameter mayalso play a role in the recovery of funds if a smart card is lost ormalfunctions and/or the Secure Element therein is otherwise compromised.

At step (2), upon receipt of a payment Offer, a receiving Secure Element(e.g., Recipient) may evaluate SIG(b) and confirm that SIG(b) isassociated with a Bank which it has an account with. In someembodiments, the Recipient also comprises its own Secure Element inaccordance with embodiments herein, but this need not be necessary. TheReceiver then unpacks the Offer to extract parameters therein. Thereceiving device may check whether X is within the Limit parameter, forexample, by confirming that Limit is greater than X plus a sum of anyPayment transactions it has previously received from the Sender, butwhich have not yet synchronized with the Ledger. In the case where theRecipient has access to a real time clock, it may evaluate the Expiredate directly and accept the Offer if it will have a sufficient windowof time to synchronize with the Ledger. If the Recipient has no clock,it may display the Expire date for the user to evaluate based on theirknowledge of the current time. Also, Recipient may compare the Expiredate to the date provided by the Ledger the last time it synchronized,as a lower bound on the current date.

At step (3), assuming the Recipient chooses to accept the Offer, thereceiving device may generate a payment Claim of the following form:Claim: <S,X,E,N _(R)>SIG(r),R  Eq. 11

where: S is the Sender public key hash/account from the Offer; X is theamount to be transferred, copied from the Offer; E is the Expire datecopied from the Offer; N_(R) is a sequence number that the Recipientincrements each time they generate a claim or payment; < >SIG(r) denotesa digital signature using the private key r of the Recipient over theelements contained in the brackets; and R is a hash of the public keyassociated with the private key r. The hash of the Public Key may serveas an account number, that is more compact than the full public key, butstill sufficient to verify associated signatures

At step (4), the Recipient may add the Claim to a list of Pending Claimsand transmits it to the Sender. At step (5), upon receiving the Claim,the payment Sender may verify that their current account balance is atleast X and return an error if it is not. At step (6), the Sender maynext verify that SIG(r) is valid. This may be achieved by recovering thepublic key from SIG(r), computing the hash, and verifying that it isequal to R. This step may guarantee that the Recipient has control overthe account to which the funds will be transferred, and desires toreceive the amount X. At step (7), provided their current accountbalance is at least X, the payment Sender decrements the account by Xand generates a Payment transaction of the following form:Payment: <<Claim,N _(S)>SIG(s),S>SIG(c _(S)),CERT(C _(S))  Eq. 12

Where, Claim is the payment claim described in step 3; N_(S) is asequence number that the Sender increments each time they generate aclaim or a payment; < >SIG(s) denotes a signature in the Sender privatekey s, over the elements contained in the brackets; S is a hash of thepublic key associated with the private key s of the Sender; <>SIG(c_(S)) denotes a signature in the private key c_(S) associated withthe Secure Element that is hosting the account S; and CERT(C_(S)) isissued by a Certificate Authority that is recognized by the Recipientand verifies that the Sender can be trusted to execute the paymentprotocol correctly (as described above).

At step (8), the Sender then saves the Payment transaction to a SentPayments list, and sends a copy to the Recipient. At this point, theamount X has been decremented from the Sender account balance, but itbelongs to no one until the Payment transaction reaches the Recipientand/or is synchronized with the ledger. Hence, the Sender has no motivenot to resend any Payment on the Sent Payments list if the Claim isresubmitted, e.g., if the original transmission were lost.

At step (9), upon receiving the Payment, the Recipient may check to seewhether the Claim sequence number N_(R) matches a Claim on their PendingClaim list. If it does not, the Payment is ignored. If it is on thelist, it is removed, and processing proceeds. This may insure that theRecipient will not accept the same Payment twice.

At step (10), the Recipient may verify that SIG(s) is correct. This maybe achieved by recovering the public key from SIG(s), computing thehash, and confirming that it equals S. This may confirm that theoperator of the Sender has transferred the specified amount X. At step(11), the Recipient may verify that SIG(c_(S)) is correct, according tothe trusted Certificate CERT(C_(S)). This may confirm that the Senderaccount is being hosted by an authentic Secure Element that can betrusted to execute the payment protocol correctly. At step (12) theRecipient may increment their current account balance by the amount X,and save the Payment to list of Complete Receipts.

In some embodiments, one or more of the above steps may not be performedwithout authenticating the user, for example, through the useridentification protocol and user credentials in accordance with theaspects of the present disclosure. For example, an Offer, Claim, orPayment may not be generated and/or sent without first confirming thatthe user is a registered user of the device. Thus, the secure elementmay be able to securely store data without risk of access by aninterloper and similarly may not send data until access isauthenticated.

iv. Ledger Synchronization

In various embodiments, each secure element (e.g., as comprised in asmart card according to various embodiments and/or other devices) mayperiodically connect to the shared Ledger as recorded with a DLT systemand/or central database and uploads all Pending Claims, CompleteReceipts and Sent Payments. In some embodiments, transactions may beuploaded based on the sequence in which they were received, for example,sequentially in accordance with the order they were generated toguarantee that there are no gaps in the sequence number space, in theevent the upload is truncated. In some embodiments, transactions may beuploaded in any order, for example, non-sequential. Each uploadedtransaction may be acknowledged by the Ledger, allowing the secureelement to delete it or mark it as synchronized. In some embodiments, aplurality of device (e.g., one or more smart cards or other externaldevices) may have a plurality of transactions to upload to the backendsystem, which may be uploaded in an asynchronous and non-sequentialorder and the backend system may then validate the transactions via oneor more of: proof of work, proof of stake, DAG or time stamping andsequencing.

As mentioned above, Secure Elements may be required to synchronize withthe Ledger to reset their Expire date to facilitate further Paymenttransactions. However, a counterfeit or compromised secure element maybe motivated to keep transactions secret as long as possible, to avoiddetection of conflicts. The Ledger cannot be certain what the largestsequence number so far issued by a given secure element may be, but itwill know a lower bound based on transactions uploaded by parties to thetransactions. Hence, it can refuse to reset the Expire date until alltransactions have been uploaded at least to this point. To prevent acounterfeit from incrementally uploading transaction until they discoverthis minimal bound, each synchronization session may begin with theSecure Element specifying the largest transaction sequence number it hasavailable to upload. If this specification is less than the lower boundknown to the Ledger, the Secure Element may be identified as corruptand/or compromised and added to the blacklist. Otherwise, the Ledger maywait until all specified transactions have been uploaded and validatedbefore returning an updated Expire date.

The Secure Element signature, SIG(c_(S)),CERT(C_(S)), may be required toassure a payment Sender is hosted by an authentic Secure Element inaccordance with the aspects of the present disclosure. In variousembodiments, account S corresponding to the Sender, may be associatedwith a single Secure Element (e.g., associated with the Sender) whichknows the corresponding private key s. Hence, the association can beregistered with the Bank at the time the account S is activated,eliminating the need to include the signature of the Sender on messagesthat are already signed using S.

An example, consider an upload from account R which includedinteractions with other accounts S, T, U. The uploaded transactionsequence might be: <<S,50,E,101>SIG(r),R,N_(S)>SIG(s);<<T,75,E,102>SIG(r),R,N_(T)>SIG(t); <<R,80,E,N_(U)>SIG(u),U,103>SIG(r);<<S,20,E,104>SIG(r),R; and <<R,60,E,N_(T)>SIG(t),T,105>SIG(r).Transaction 101 (e.g., <<S,50,E,101>SIG(r),R,NS>SIG(s)) specifies acredit of 50 from account S, with expiration E. Transaction 102 (e.g.,<<T,75,E,102>SIG(r),R,NT>SIG(t)) specifies a credit of 75 from accountT, with expiration E. Transaction 103 (e.g.,<<R,80,E,N_(U)>SIG(u),U,103>SIG(r)) specifies a debit of 80 to accountU. Transaction 104 (e.g., <S,20,E,104>SIG(r),R) specifies a Claim for acredit of 20 for which no Payment was received. Transaction 105 (e.g.,<<R,60,E,N_(T)>SIG(t),T,105>SIG(r)) specifies a debit of 60 to accountT.

The Ledger (e.g., DLT system and/or central database) may be configuredto verify the internal consistency of the uploaded transactions byverifying there are no gaps or duplicates in the sequence numbers (e.g.,101, 102, 103, 104, and 105) associated with R. The next step performedby the Ledger is to verify that all digital signatures are valid, andthen to process the debits and credits sequentially to insure that Rnever issued a Payment that was larger than their balance at that time.

In some embodiments, the objective of the Expire parameters E is toencourage recipients to synchronize with the Ledger as quickly and aspractically as possible, and to discourage Recipients from acceptingpayments that are nearing their expiration. Additionally, the Expireparameter may encourage Senders to synchronize with the Ledgerfrequently, in part, to reset their current Expire parameter. In someembodiments, the Ledger may also be configured to permit a grace periodand accept expired transactions, unless the grace period has alsoelapsed. The grace period may be predetermined as desired by the systemoperator(s).

Once the debits and credits are processed with respect to accountbalance of the synchronizing account R, the transactions may be insertedinto the Ledger while verifying that there are no conflicts with othertransactions stored in the Ledger. In various embodiments, each accountmay have exactly one transaction corresponding to each sequence number,up to the maximum sequence number as set within the DLT or centraldatabase. In some embodiments, the process herein may be performedfollowing and/or in response to establishment of WAN connectivity withdevices involved in the transaction.

In accordance with various embodiments herein, below is a process forsynchronization of a DLT and/or central database system (referred toherein as the backend system collectively) in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure. At step (1), the Ledger is accessedby the backend system and a sequence number 101 for account R (e.g.,R:101) is located1. If it does not exist, the backend system may insertR:101 (e.g., <<S,50,E,101>SIG(r),R,N_(S)>SIG(s)). If it does exist, thebackend system may verify that R:101 matches the newly uploadedtransaction. If the Claim portions are different, then R is identifiedand/or detected as corrupt and the secure element associated with R maybe added to the blacklist. If N_(S) is different, then S may beidentified as corrupt and the secure element associated with S may beadded to the blacklist. At step (2), the backend system may access andlook up transaction S:N_(S) (e.g., a corresponding payment transactionuploaded by the secure element corresponding to S). If it alreadyexists, the backend system may verify that it matches as in step (1)above. If it does not exist, the backend system may insert S:N_(S) intothe Ledger. If the S:NS is newly inserted, and there are no missingtransactions preceding it in the S transaction history, then the backendsystem sequentially debit/credit the S balance, beginning with N_(S) andproceeding to the first missing transaction based on sequence numbers.If the balance ever becomes negative, S is may be identified as corrupt.At step (3), the process is repeated for transactions R:102, T:N_(T),R:103, U:N_(U).

For an uncompleted Claim, as in R:104, a mismatch may be allowed, aslong as the Claim portion matches. This may correspond to the case wherethe Claim arrived at the intended Sender, but the Payment transactionnever made it back to the Recipient. In that case, the completed Paymenttransaction may be returned to the intended Recipient so they canincrement their balance. Alternatively, the Claim may never have arrivedat the intended Sender, so there would be no other representation oftransaction R:104 in the Ledger. Note that the upload of a completedClaim from S (e.g., Payment) may occur before or after an uncompletedClaim was submitted by R. In the latter case, the Ledger may be requiredto mark the Claim from S as a pending transfer the next time R connectsover the WAN.

In some embodiments of step (2) above, the possibility that S:N_(S) mayhave missing transactions preceding it in the S history may prevent thedetection of a balance over-run. This possibility may be eliminated if Swere to include a record of its unsynchronized transaction history to Rat the time of the Payment. Then R could upload these transactions withits own transactions to insure that the backend system could detect abalance over-run at S:N_(S) and identify the corresponding secureelement as corrupt and/or compromised even if S has not yet synchronizedits own transactions with the Ledger. In some embodiments, however, byprocessing the S history uploaded by R, the Ledger might encountertransactions between S and third parties, whose balances cannot becomputed due incomplete transaction histories.

In some embodiments, to insure that the balance updated for R at the endof synchronization contains no amounts derived from an unknown origin,each Payment transaction may need to include the Sender's outstandingtransaction history, as well as the outstanding transaction historiesprovided by each Sender to it, and so on, in recursive fashion (alsoreferred to herein as “Supporting Transactions”). Depending on paymentpatterns and synchronization frequencies, these Supporting Transactionscould grow to be a large volume of data, which could increase theduration and power consumption to complete a Payment exchange, as wellas increasing storage requirements.

In some embodiments, if the likelihood of corrupt secure elements islow, and the Limit and Expire parameters are set appropriately, the Bankmay be willing to cover potential losses associated with delayeddetection of a corrupt secure element. In various embodiments, tobalance counterfeit risk against Payment efficiency along a morecontinuous scale, a number of policies may be introduced to regulate thevolume of outstanding transactions unknown to the backend system. Forexample, if a given secure element has any large transactions in itshistory that have yet to be uploaded, these could be included with theSupporting Transactions and uploaded along with or close in time withany Payment transactions. In some embodiments, small transactions mayremain local until synchronization.

However, an accumulation of many small transactions may be as importantas a single large one, so this feature could be parameterized in morecumulative fashion. For example, the secure element may add up all ofits outstanding credits transactions in one sum, and its debitstransactions in another. If either value exceeds a threshold, the secureelement may remove transactions from the totals until both totals arebelow the threshold. For example, the threshold may allow balancechanges of less than $50 in either a positive or negative direction toremain outstanding until the next WAN reporting opportunity. Or, thisthreshold might be enlarged for an account with a larger lastsynchronized balance or longer history of valid transactions. Theremoved transactions may be included in the Supporting Transactions set.Furthermore, in some embodiments, any Supporting Transactions which asecure element receives from other secure elements may be included inthe Supporting Transaction set. In this way, the secure elements may beconfigured to store a pool of relatively insignificant transactions inlocal memory until the secure element is connected to the backendsystem, while larger transactions may be pushed to the backend systemsvia peers. This approach may accelerate the detection of any corruptparticipants.

Another example method to balance counterfeit risk against Paymentefficiency may be for a secure element to include in SupportingTransactions set any Payment Receipts necessary to insure that theirlast synchronized balance plus the Payment Receipts exceeds the sum oftheir Payments sent.

In some embodiments, a secure element may receive a plurality ofSupporting Transaction received from an external device according toprotocol rules that require sharing of the Supporting Transactions.These Supporting Transactions may be stored in the memory of the smartcard and comprise one or more transactions configured to detectcompromised cards. In some embodiments, the smart card may be configuredto transmit the one or more transactions configured to detectcompromised cards along with transmissions as part of the paymenttransfer protocol. In some embodiments, one or more other SupportingTransactions may be omitted to reduce time and power consumption asdescribed above.

In some embodiments, protocol rules may include a sharing anytransaction information between the external device and the smart cardthat have yet to be transmitted to the backend system and are necessaryfor settling the transaction at the backend system. For example, theprotocol rules may require a payment sender to share with the recipientany pending payment transactions the sender received that have yet to bereported to the backend systems and are necessary for completion of thecurrent transaction. In some embodiments, any other SupportingTransactions that the sender received along with the un-reportedtransactions may be included.

In some embodiments, the protocol rules may include sharing transactionsthat exceed a threshold value and have not been uploaded to the backendsystem. For example, the protocol rules may require a smart card toshare with other external devices every transaction not yet reportedwhose transaction amount exceeds a threshold value. In some embodiments,the backend system may set the threshold value.

The operative parameters for the above policies and methods could bereturned each time a secure element synchronizes with the backendsystem, to allow different parameters for different accounts, possiblyvarying with history and balance. Failure to respect the operativepolicy could be detected as the transaction history fills in.

v. Blacklist/Certificate Revocation

As described throughout the present disclosure, if any incorrect accountbehaviors are detected by backend system, for example, duringsynchronization, the certificate of the infracting element associatedwith the account can be added to the blacklist. The blacklist may be alist of a plurality of unauthorized secure elements identified bycorresponding serial number and identifiers in accordance with thepresent disclosure. In some embodiments, each secure element may storein memory (e.g., memory 307 of FIG. 3B) and maintain a local copy of theblacklist. The local copy may be updated each time the secure elementsynchronizes with the backend system. The blacklist may be checkedbefore any transactions are entered into and/or during establishment ofa trusted connection with another device and/or secure element (e.g., bythe device authentication block 390).

vi. Lost or Malfunctioning Secure Element

In accordance with the aspects of the present disclosure, each time asecure element synchronizes with the backend system, the Bank may beconfigured to calculate and return to the secure element an Expireparameter. The Expire parameter may apply to any transactions the secureelement generates up until the next synchronization. The Bank may alsostore this parameter into memory with the associated account. In theevent that a user reports their secure element has been lost,malfunctions, and/or otherwise compromised, the Bank may mark theaccount within its system to block any further updates to the Expireparameter. Then, once the Expire parameter has passed, the accountbalance can be updated to include any transactions that have arrived,and transferred to a previously established recovery account, which theuser can access without the secure element.

vii. Sending Payments to Recipients without Secure Elements

In various embodiments, a secure element can use the preceding protocolto send payments to accounts that are not hosted by or otherwiseconnected to a secure element. In some embodiments, such use may bepossible as long as the recipient has established an account with theBank. Establish an account may be based on registering a public keycorresponding to the recipient with the Bank. Then, the recipient mayneed only to present each received Payment transaction to the Bank viathe backend system for executing and conducting transactions inconnection with their account. In this case, the Claim sequence numberN_(R) may be immaterial, e.g., the backend system may be configured torecognize any duplicate Payments by the Sender sequence number N_(S). Insome embodiments, this sole reliance on N_(S) may not be available forthe secure element to detect duplicate Payments, because it does notnecessarily keep a permanent history of every payment it has received.

In some embodiments, the secure element may be able to receive paymentfrom Senders who do not have a secure element. For example, the Bank maycredit the balance held by a secure element using the protocol above,except the Payment may be signed by the Bank rather than the by theCertificate, CERT(C_(S)), of the secure element. In some embodiments, asecure element may not be able to receive Payment from an account nothosted by another secure element.

viii. Blockchain and Other DLT Backends

In some embodiments, the systems and devices herein may be configure touse a central database operated by a trusted Bank, a public DLT system,and/or private DLT system, as described above. In some embodiments,using a DLT system (either public or private), may comprise the followparameters

First, the core transaction format may be adjusted to match the exactrequirements of the DLT system. Additional protocol elements to supportoff-network operation, such as the Offer, Claim, and Secure Elementdigital signatures and certificates, can be wrapped around this coreformat, and then omitted for posting to the DLT system when networkaccess becomes available.

Second, while the above described transaction protocol can preventduplicate payments from other secure elements, an alternative method maybe implemented to recognize duplicate payments from parties not hostedby a secure element. For example, in some embodiments, the secureelement can generate a new random public/private key pair for conductingeach transaction (e.g., receiving a new payment), add the transaction toa pending list, and then remove it from the pending list when thetransaction is completed (e.g., received). Alternatively or incombination, the secure element may be configured to maintain apermanent record of all previously received payments, which may beabbreviated according to the structure of the particular DLT protocol.For example, in some embodiments, transactions from a given account mayhave an ascending sequence number, so the secure element may need onlysave the largest sequence number from each account for which thetransaction is related.

Third, in some DLT systems, the option to allow transactions to arriveat the backend system out of order may not exist. Hence, for thesesystems, all Supporting Transactions may then be required to be passedalong with every Payment transaction, so to be submitted in the propersequence when access to the DLT becomes available.

Fourth, in some embodiments, the automatic fund recovery procedure builtin to the above described protocol via the Expire parameter may notexist for all DLT systems. To the extent this parameter does not exist,these technologies may offer time-locked transactions by which a similarrecovery scheme could be implemented, but with additional transactionoverhead.

I. Multiple Signatures and Recovery of Stored Data

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, whenconnected to backend systems, accounts on the distributed off network(e.g., the p2p trust mesh network as described above) may be setup viaone or more backend systems. For example, as described throughout thepresent disclosure, the backend systems may comprise one or more of acentral database managed via private/public key implementations, publicDLT based private/public key management approaches, and/or a private DLTsystem configured to support transactions of various forms of data orsmart contracts. To support account custody and data recovery, privatekeys associated with a secure element may be recoverable viapass-phrases that need to be kept secure by users or the system. It isto be understood that private keys that users can recover cannot be usedfor off-network payments as described herein, because, in someembodiments, the secure element may not have a way to regulatetransactions and maintain correct account balances if the keys areavailable to other entities to sign transactions.

For example, accounts associated with a smart card comprising a secureelement in accordance with the present disclosure may be configured tosupport multiple signature accounts (e.g., multiple digital signatureand/or certificates as described above), in addition to single signaturetransactions. Thus, transactions into or out of smart cards configuredfor multiple signatures may require all of the digital signatures of allparties in order to conduct transactions and/or data exchange. Themultiple digital signatures can be coordinated by the parties via secureemail; or SMS, MIMS, RCS, etc. content; and/or via encrypted internetprotocol based communications using the same identity and authenticationscheme in accordance with the present disclosure. In some embodiments,the signatures used for control of cryptocurrency assets stored on theDLT system, for example, a DLT system that supports multi-signaturetransactions.

In some embodiments, for example a self-custody model, users can storepasswords for the account themselves. In some implementations, theseaccounts may require multiple signatures where one or more users haveaccess to recovery pass phrases.

In some embodiments, the system may be configured to allow users not tostore pass phrases for certain accounts where a third party custodyaccount is set up to receive time locked transaction data from lost ormalfunctioning cards as described earlier.

FIG. 12 illustrates a schematic diagram of various custody arrangementsin accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 12 illustratesself-custody arrangement 1210 (e.g. by a crypto asset hold),self-custody arrangement 1220, multiple self-custody arrangement 1230,and hybrid third party and self-custody arrangement 1240.

Arrangement 1220 illustrates full self-custody. This arrangement mayrequire storage of a passphrase for recovery by the user for recovery ofa lost or compromised smart card (not shown). Storage device 1222 isillustrated which may be any storage device and/or location (e.g., amobile device, external memory, personal computer, etc.). Alternatively,or in combination, the user may store the passphrase in their personalmemory.

Arrangement 1210 illustrates a smart card 1211 (e.g., a smart card inaccordance with the present disclosure) that may be configured toprovide self-custody, for example, where values stored on public DLTsystems 1215 that support private key recovery via passphrases. Forexample, a private key of the smart card 1211 is stored in a secureelement of the smart card 1211, such that all transactions can beauthenticated and signed on the card. Where WAN connectivity exists, thesmart card 1211 may communicate with DLT system 1215 to recover itsprivate key via one or more passphrases (e.g., signal path 1213).Similarly, where WAN connectivity does not exist, the smart card 1215may communicate with another device 1217 (e.g., a mobile device asillustrated) via PAN connectivity (e.g., BLE, NFC, etc.) to recovery theprivate key from DLT system 1215 (e.g., signal path 1219).

Multiple signature arrangements are possible, for example, where users1232 can select other users 1234 as signatories for transactions asillustrated in arraignment 1230. In this arrangement, the user and otherusers store passphrases in different storage location 1236, 1238 (asdescribed above for storage location 1222) for use in recovery of aprivate key. In some embodiments, as illustrated in arrangement 1240,multiple signatures may be hosted on backend systems configured to allowrecovery via time locked transactions held by third party custody system1245, for example, by utilizes hardware secure elements and multi factorauthentication in accordance with the present disclosure. For example,recover via time locked recovery account may require reset by a user,but no pass-phrase custody by the user. As long as the user resets theprogrammable time lock, the user may keep control of the assets of theaccount associated with a smart card and with the user. Where a loss ofthe smart card occurs, the third party custodian may get full controlover the assets of the account. The custodian 1245 may also set up a newwallet for the user. In some embodiments, multiple signatures may alsobe required by the third part custodian (e.g., arrangement 1230) tofacilitate setting up a new wallet for the user for depositing theassets.

J. Computer Implemented Embodiment

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating wired or wireless system 1300 inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure, the system 1300 may beused in the implementation of the smart cards and smart cards describedherein, for example, smart cards 110-150 and 300 of FIGS. 1-3B andsmarts cards described throughout the present disclosure. System 1300may also be used in the implementations of the smart dock 200 of FIGS.2A and 2B.

In various embodiments, the system 1300 can be a conventional personalcomputer, computer server, personal digital assistant, smart phone,tablet computer, or any other processor enabled device that is capableof wired or wireless data communication. Other computer systems and/orarchitectures may be also used, as will be clear to those skilled in theart.

The system 1300 may include one or more processors, such as processor1310. Additional processors may be provided, such as an auxiliaryprocessor to manage input/output, an auxiliary processor to performfloating point mathematical operations, a special-purpose microprocessorhaving an architecture suitable for fast execution of signal processingalgorithms (e.g., digital signal processor), a slave processorsubordinate to the main processing system (e.g., back-end processor), anadditional microprocessor or controller for dual or multiple processorsystems, or a coprocessor. Such auxiliary processors may be discreteprocessors or may be integrated with the processor 1310.

The processor 1310 may be connected to a communication bus 1305. Thecommunication bus 1305 may include a data channel for facilitatinginformation transfer between storage and other peripheral components ofthe system 1300. The communication bus 1305 may further provide a set ofsignals used for communication with the processor 1310, including a databus, address bus, and control bus (not shown). The communication bus1305 may be any standard or non-standard bus architecture such as, forexample, bus architectures compliant with industry standard architecture(“ISA”), extended industry standard architecture (“EISA”), Micro ChannelArchitecture (“MCA”), peripheral component interconnect (“PCI”) localbus, or standards promulgated by the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (“IEEE”) including IEEE 488 general-purposeinterface bus (“GPM”), IEEE 696/S-100, and the like.

System 1300 may include a main memory 1315 and may also include asecondary memory 1320. The main memory 1315 may provide storage ofinstructions and data for programs executing on the processor 1310. Themain memory 1315 is typically semiconductor-based memory such as dynamicrandom-access memory (“DRAM”) and/or static random-access memory(“SRAM”). Other semiconductor-based memory types include, for example,synchronous dynamic random-access memory (“SDRAM”), Rambus dynamicrandom-access memory (“RDRAM”), ferroelectric random-access memory(“FRAM”), and the like, including read only memory (“ROM”).

The secondary memory 1320 may optionally include an internal memory 1325and/or a removable storage medium 1330, for example a floppy disk drive,a magnetic tape drive, a compact disc (“CD”) drive, a digital versatiledisc (“DVD”) drive, etc. The removable storage medium 1330 is read fromand/or written to in a well-known manner. Removable storage medium 1330may be, for example, a floppy disk, magnetic tape, CD, DVD, SD card,etc.

The removable storage medium 1330 is a non-transitory computer readablemedium having stored thereon computer executable code (i.e., software)and/or data. The computer software or data stored on the removablestorage medium 1330 is read into the system 1300 for execution by theprocessor 1310.

In alternative embodiments, the secondary memory 1320 may include othersimilar means for allowing computer programs or other data orinstructions to be loaded into the system 1300. Such means may include,for example, an external storage medium 1345 and a communicationinterface 1340. Examples of external storage medium 1345 may include anexternal hard disk drive or an external optical drive, or and externalmagneto-optical drive.

Other examples of secondary memory 1320 may include semiconductor-basedmemory such as programmable read-only memory (“PROM”), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (“EPROM”), electrically erasable read-onlymemory (“EEPROM”), or flash memory (block-oriented memory similar toEEPROM). Also included are the removable storage medium 1330 and acommunication interface, which allow software and data to be transferredfrom an external storage medium 1345 to the system 1300.

System 1300 may also include an input/output (“I/O”) interface 1335. TheI/O interface 1335 facilitates input from and output to externaldevices. For example, the I/O interface 1335 may receive input from akeyboard, mouse, touch screen, voice command, etc. and may provideoutput to a display. The I/O interface 1335 is capable of facilitatinginput from and output to various alternative types of human interfaceand machine interface devices alike.

System 1300 may also include a communication interface 1340. Thecommunication interface 1340 allows software and data to be transferredbetween system 1300 and external devices (e.g. printers), networks, orinformation sources. For example, computer software or executable codemay be transferred to system 1300 from a network server viacommunication interface 1340. Examples of communication interface 1340include a modem, a network interface card (“NIC”), a wireless data card,a communications port, an infrared interface, and an IEEE 1394fire-wire, just to name a few.

Communication interface 1340 implements industry promulgated protocolstandards, such as Ethernet IEEE 802 standards, Fiber Channel, digitalsubscriber line (“DSL”), asynchronous digital subscriber line (“ADSL”),frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (“ATM”), integrated digitalservices network (“ISDN”), personal communications services (“PCS”),transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (“TCP/IP”), serial lineInternet protocol/point to point protocol (“SLIP/PPP”), and so on, butmay also implement customized or non-standard interface protocols aswell.

Software and data transferred via communication interface 1340 aregenerally in the form of electrical communication signals 1350. Theelectrical communication signals 1350 are preferably provided tocommunication interface 1340 via a communication channel 1355. Invarious embodiments, the communication channel 1355 may be a wired orwireless network, or any variety of other communication links.Communication channel 1355 carries the electrical communication signals1350 and can be implemented using a variety of wired or wirelesscommunication means including wire or cable, fiber optics, conventionalphone line, cellular phone link, wireless data communication link, radiofrequency (“RF”) link, or infrared link, just to name a few.

Computer executable code (i.e., computer programs or software) is storedin the main memory 1315 and/or the secondary memory 1320. Computerprograms can also be received via communication interface 1340 andstored in the main memory 1315 and/or the secondary memory 1320. Suchcomputer programs, when executed, enable the system 1300 to perform thevarious functions of the present invention as previously described.

In this disclosure, the term “computer readable medium” is used to referto any non-transitory computer readable storage media used to providecomputer executable code (e.g., software and computer programs) to thesystem 1300. Examples of these media include main memory 1315, secondarymemory 1320 (including internal memory 1325, removable storage medium1330, and external storage medium 1345), and any peripheral devicecommunicatively coupled with communication interface 1340 (including anetwork information server or other network device). Thesenon-transitory computer readable mediums are means for providingexecutable code, programming instructions, and software to the system1300.

In an embodiment that is implemented using software, the software may bestored on a computer readable medium and loaded into the system 1300 byway of removable storage medium 1330, I/O interface 1335, orcommunication interface 1340. In such an embodiment, the software isloaded into the system 1300 in the form of electrical communicationsignals 1350. The software, when executed by the processor 1310,preferably causes the processor 1310 to perform the inventive featuresand functions previously described herein.

The system 1300 may include optional wireless communication componentsthat facilitate wireless communication over a voice and over a datanetwork. The wireless communication components include an antenna system1360, a radio system 1365 and a baseband system 1370. In the system1300, radio frequency (“RF”) signals are transmitted and received overthe air by the antenna system 1360 under the management of the radiosystem 1365.

In various embodiments, the antenna system 1360 may include one or moreantennae and one or more multiplexors (not shown) that perform aswitching function to provide the antenna system 1360 with transmit andreceive signal paths. In the receive path, received RF signals can becoupled from a multiplexor to a low noise amplifier (not shown) thatamplifies the received RF signal and sends the amplified signal to theradio system 1365.

In alternative embodiments, the radio system 1365 may include one ormore radios that are configured to communicate over various frequencies.In one embodiment, the radio system 1365 may combine a demodulator (notshown) and modulator (not shown) in one integrated circuit (“IC”). Thedemodulator and modulator can also be separate components. In theincoming path, the demodulator strips away the RF carrier signal leavinga baseband receive audio signal, which is sent from the radio system1365 to the baseband system 1370.

If the received signal contains audio information, then baseband system1370 decodes the signal and converts it to an analog signal. Then thesignal is amplified and sent to a speaker. The baseband system 1370 alsoreceives analog audio signals from a microphone. These analog audiosignals are converted to digital signals and encoded by the basebandsystem 1370. The baseband system 1370 also codes the digital signals fortransmission and generates a baseband transmit audio signal that isrouted to the modulator portion of the radio system 1365. The modulatormixes the baseband transmit audio signal with an RF carrier signalgenerating an RF transmit signal that is routed to the antenna systemand may pass through a power amplifier (not shown). The power amplifieramplifies the RF transmit signal and routes it to the antenna system1360 where the signal is switched to the antenna port for transmission.

The baseband system 1370 is also communicatively coupled with theprocessor 1310. The processor 1310 has access to one or more datastorage areas including, for example, but not limited to, the mainmemory 1315 and the secondary memory 1320. The processor 1310 ispreferably configured to execute instructions (i.e., computer programsor software) that can be stored in the main memory 1315 or in thesecondary memory 1320. Computer programs can also be received from thebaseband system 1370 and stored in the main memory 1315 or in thesecondary memory 1320 or executed upon receipt. Such computer programs,when executed, enable the system 1300 to perform the various functionsof the present invention as previously described. For example, the mainmemory 1315 may include various software modules (not shown) that areexecutable by processor 1310.

Various embodiments of FIG. 13 may also be implemented primarily inhardware using, for example, components such as application specificintegrated circuits (“ASICs”), or field programmable gate arrays(“FPGAs”). Implementation of a hardware state machine capable ofperforming the functions described herein will also be apparent to thoseskilled in the relevant art. Various embodiments may also be implementedusing a combination of both hardware and software.

K. Additional Features

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notof limitation. The breadth and scope should not be limited by any of theabove-described example embodiments. Where this document refers totechnologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill inthe art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to theskilled artisan now or at any time in the future. In addition, thedescribed embodiments are not restricted to the illustrated examplearchitectures or configurations, but the desired features can beimplemented using a variety of alternative architectures andconfigurations. As will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart after reading this document, the illustrated embodiments and theirvarious alternatives can be implemented without confinement to theillustrated example. The various embodiments illustrated and describedare provided merely as examples to illustrate various features of theclaims. However, features shown and described with respect to any givenembodiment are not necessarily limited to that specific embodiment andmay be used or combined with other features and/or embodiments that areshown and described. One of ordinary skill in the art would alsounderstand how alternative functional, logical or physical partitioningand configurations could be utilized to implement the desired featuresof the described embodiments.

Furthermore, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and method stepsdescribed in connection with the above described figures and theembodiments disclosed herein can often be implemented as electronichardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled persons can implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the invention. In addition, the grouping of functions within amodule, block, circuit or step is for ease of description. Specificfunctions or steps can be moved from one module, block or circuit toanother without departing from the invention.

Moreover, the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and methodsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can beimplemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digitalsignal processor (“DSP”), an ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logicdevice, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components,or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions describedherein. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor can be any processor, controller,microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implementedas a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of aDSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

Furthermore, although items, elements or components can be described orclaimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated to be within thescope thereof unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.The presence of broadening words and phrases such as “one or more,” “atleast,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases in some instancesshall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or requiredin instances where such broadening phrases can be absent.

While various embodiments have been described above, it is understoodthat the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in theprocesses/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of example approaches.Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific orderor hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may be rearranged.Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying methodclaims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order and arenot meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

Combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B,or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and“A, B, C, or any combination thereof” include any combination of A, B,and/or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiplesof C. Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,”“one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or moreof A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be Aonly, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, whereany such combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B,or C.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,”“element,” “device,” and the like may not be a substitute for the word“means.” As such, no claim element is to be construed as a means plusfunction unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “meansfor.”

The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams areprovided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to requireor imply that the operations of the various embodiments must beperformed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skillin the art the order of operations in the foregoing embodiments may beperformed in any order. Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,”etc., are not intended to limit the order of the operations; these wordsare simply used to guide the reader through the description of themethods. Further, any reference to claim elements in the singular, forexample, using the articles “a,” “an,” or “the” is not to be construedas limiting the element to the singular.

While certain embodiments have been described above, it will beunderstood that the embodiments described are by way of example only.Accordingly, the systems and methods described herein should not belimited based on the described embodiments. Rather, the systems andmethods described herein should only be limited in light of the claimsthat follow when taken in conjunction with the above description andaccompanying drawings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A smart card comprising: a plurality of dedicatedhardware circuit blocks electrically coupled via a bus interconnection,the plurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks comprising: anidentification input circuitry configured to capture user credentialsfrom an interaction by a user with the smart card; memory circuitryconfigured to store an identification template corresponding to one ormore registered users of the smart card; user identification circuitrycoupled to the memory and electrically coupled to the identificationinput circuitry, the identification circuitry configured to authenticatethat user credentials received from the identification input circuitrycorrespond to the one or more registered users; and a microcontrollercomprising one or more processors and configured to schedule set up andexecution of the dedicated hardware blocks; wherein the user credentialscomprise an image and wherein the user identification circuitrycomprises (i) an image enhancement block configured to perform imageprocessing on the image, (ii) a minutiae detection block configured todetect minutiae of the image, and (iii) a comparison block configured tocompare the image against the identification template retrieved from thememory circuit; wherein each of the image enhancement block, minutiaedetection block, and comparison block is one of the plurality ofdedicated hardware circuit blocks, and configured for reduced data bitwidths based on sequential and parallel processing.
 2. The smart card ofclaim 1, wherein the microcontroller is configured to sequentiallyactivate and deactivate individual ones of the dedicated hardwarecircuit blocks as needed, thereby reducing power requirements of thesmart card.
 3. The smart card of claim 2, wherein the microcontroller isconfigured to activate the individual ones of the dedicated hardwarecircuit blocks by supplying power thereto.
 4. The smart card of claim 1,wherein the user identification circuitry comprises two or more hardwareblocks of the plurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks, the two ormore hardware blocks configured to perform separate functions of theuser identification circuitry.
 5. The smart card of claim 4, wherein themicrocontroller is further configured to sequentially activate anddeactivate the two or more hardware blocks as needed, thereby reducingpower requirements of the smart card.
 6. The smart card of claim 1,further comprising a plurality of chips, wherein each of the pluralityof dedicated hardware circuit blocks are disposed on a separate chip ofthe plurality of chips.
 7. The smart card of claim 1, wherein one ormore of the plurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks is disposedon a tamper-resistant chip.
 8. The smart card of claim 7, wherein thetamper-resistant chip comprises a single laminated substrate.
 9. Thesmart card of claim 7, wherein the tamper-resistant chip may betamper-resistant based at least on capacitive and inductive filtering ofpower and clock signals.
 10. The smart card of claim 7, wherein thetamper-resistant chip comprises at least one tamper detection circuitconfigured to detect clock or power glitches beyond specified voltage ortiming.
 11. The smart card of claim 7, wherein the tamper-resistant chipis configured to operate at ultra-low power consumption.
 12. The smartcard of claim 1, further comprising: a secure element encapsulating atleast a part of the memory circuitry.
 13. The smart card of claim 12,wherein the secure element comprises one or more layers having power,address, or data lines.
 14. The smart card of claim 12, wherein the atleast part of the memory circuitry comprises a part of the memorycircuitry that stores sensitive information.
 15. The smart card of claim1, wherein the microcontroller is configured to provide power, clock,and signal gating to turn one or more sections of the smart card offwhen functions of the one or more sections are not performed.
 16. Thesmart card of claim 15, wherein the plurality of dedicated hardwarecircuit blocks further comprises a power management circuit and a clock,and wherein the microcontroller is configured to use the powermanagement circuit and the clock to provide the power, clock, and signalgating.
 17. The smart card of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller isfurther configured to, in response to the user authentication circuitryauthenticating that user credentials correspond to the one or moreregistered users: operate various functions of the smart card.
 18. Thesmart card of claim 17, wherein the microcontroller is configured tooperate the various functions of the smart card in accordance with userrestriction parameters.
 19. The smart card of claim 18, wherein the userrestriction parameters comprise one or more rules associated with atleast one of (i) a particular user of the one or more registered usersand (ii) a geographic location.
 20. The smart card of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks further comprises:cryptographic circuitry configured to generate encryption parameters forthe smart card; and communication circuitry configured to transmit andreceive information via wireless communication.
 21. The smart card ofclaim 20, wherein the cryptographic circuitry is configured to use oneor more physical unclonable functions (PUFs), unclonable certificates,or unclonable signatures to generate the encryption parameters.
 22. Thesmart card of claim 20, wherein the plurality of dedicated hardwarecircuit blocks further comprises device authentication circuitryconfigured to establish a trusted connection with an external device.23. The smart card of claim 22, wherein the authentication circuitry isconfigured to establish the trusted connection by authenticating one ormore digitally signed certificates received from the external devicebased in part on the encryption parameters.
 24. The smart card of claim20, wherein the communication circuitry is configured to operate using acommunication protocol comprising at least one or more of: near-fieldcommunication, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.
 25. The smart card of claim 20,wherein the communication circuitry is configured to transmit andreceive information over one or more of a local area network, a personalarea network, and a wide area network.
 26. The smart card of claim 20,wherein the communication circuitry is configured to establish apersonal area network based on detecting that an external device iswithin a communicable range of the personal area network.
 27. The smartcard of claim 20, wherein the smart card is configured to insert into asmart dock, and wherein at least one component of the communicationcircuitry is configured to operate based on receiving power from thesmart dock and not operate when not receiving power from the smart dock.28. A method of operating functions of a smart card comprising aplurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks, the method comprising:capturing user credentials from an interaction by a user with the smartcard via identification input circuitry of the plurality of dedicatedhardware circuit blocks; and authenticating that the user credentialscorrespond to one or more registered users via user identificationcircuitry of the plurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks, whereinthe capturing and the authenticating is performed by sequentiallyactivating and deactivating the identification input circuitry and theuser identification circuitry, as needed, thereby reducing powerrequirements of the smart card; wherein the identification circuitrycomprises a biometric sensor and wherein capturing the user credentialscomprises obtaining an image of a biometric of the user; wherein theauthenticating that the user credentials correspond to the one or moreregistered users comprises: performing digital processing on the imageusing an image enhancement block of the plurality of dedicated hardwarecircuit blocks; detecting minutiae of the image using a minutiaedetection block of the plurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks;and comparing the image with a biometric template using a comparisonblock of the plurality of dedicated hardware circuit blocks; wherein themethod further comprising: operating each of the image enhancement,image enhancement, and comparison blocks for reduced data bit widthsbased on sequential and parallel processing.
 29. The method of claim 28,the method further comprising: supplying power to each of the imageenhancement, image enhancement, and comparison blocks while each of theblocks is performing its function; and not supplying power to the blocksnot currently performing its function.
 30. The method of claim 28,further comprising: in response to authenticating that the usercredentials correspond to the one or more registered users, determineone or more user restriction parameters associated with the user. 31.The method of claim 30, further comprising: activating one or morefunctions of the smart card based on the one or more user restrictionparameters.
 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the one or more userrestriction parameters are based at least one of: (i) a particular userof the one or more registered users and (ii) a geographic location. 33.The method of claim 28, wherein the authenticating that the usercredentials correspond to one or more registered users comprises two ormore independent steps performed on their own dedicated circuit blocks,and wherein the two or more independent steps each lack dependencies onloop backs to access data from other circuit blocks.
 34. The method ofclaim 33, wherein the two or more independent steps are activated anddeactivated sequentially.